


Cared for you.

by Mixk



Series: Cared for you [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-22
Updated: 2012-08-25
Packaged: 2017-10-29 23:14:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 42,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/325239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mixk/pseuds/Mixk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/325061"><i>Yeah, Miguel, are you single?</i></a>. After their first encounter, short and steamy as it was, things aren't so simple between Danny and Derek, what with Danny being caught up in Derek's supernatural and dangerous life. Danny struggles with his feelings for Derek, his relationship with Jackson, and his life goes from simple and uneventful to complicated in a heartbeat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Found you bleeding

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this story that I've started writing last summer, this is a Danny centric fic, obviously. It's still a WIP. Comments are always appreciated ! :)

Danny walks back home after the game—he always does—it helps him cool off and ease back into a basal state of activity, so it’s sort of become his ritual. He’s usually alone, telling his parents to drive home ahead, but tonight, Jackson decided to tag along—which is fine, really. Besides, they haven’t really had a chance to talk lately.

“That was a pretty good game, huh?” Jackson pats Danny’s back, eliciting a grin from him.

“Yeah, we kicked ass,” Danny replies, shuffling his feet tiredly on the pavement. He’s pretty satisfied about their performance tonight—his own performance too, to be honest—because in the end, Danny likes to win. Loves it, even. They talk some more about the game, about each other’s techniques and McCall’s weird, improved skills until they fall back into comfortable silence.

“I dumped Lydia today,” Jackson blurts out, catching Danny’s attention.

“You did?” Danny’s kind of surprised. He always thought Jackson wouldn’t let go of Lydia until at least after graduating from high school. They’re the power couple around town and those rarely break up.

“Yeah, she was kind of weighing me down, too high maintenance, not worth it,” Jackson explains vaguely, his words feeling oddly rushed. Danny just nods and shrugs, not sure what to say. And honestly, he doesn’t think there’s anything to say in that kind of situation, really.

“What about you, dude? No guy problems on your part?” Jackson asks, causing Danny’s thoughts to drift back to this afternoon’s events, Stiles’ cousin dry humping him in Stiles’ own bedroom.

“Uh, no,” Danny answers vaguely, hoping Jackson will feel satisfied with that answer and feel relieved that he doesn’t have to talk about it furthermore. Straight guys are usually not comfortable talking about gay guys’ love life—much less their sex life—so Danny’s kind of glad he doesn’t have to talk about it.

“Come on, man,” Jackson teases him. “Hot guy like you, I can’t believe you don’t get some action.”

“Seriously,” Danny insists, a bit thrown off.  Jackson usually never bothers pushing past the first question regarding his love life.

“All right, cool,” Jackson says as they approach his house, hands raised in the air. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Danny watches his best friend walk up to his house and keeps on walking the few blocks over to his own home. As he nears his house, lit up by the moonlight, he makes out a silhouette on the other side of the road coming his way. It’s a man, limping towards him.

“Danny,” the man breathes out and up close; Danny manages to make out his features. It’s Stiles’ cousin, his arm clutching his stomach. His bloody stomach actually, and not just a few bloodstains like earlier, the entire bottom half of his shirt is covered in blood, most of which isn’t even dry. Danny doubts he got this from nosebleeds.

“Miguel?”

“Derek…” Miguel says and almost keels over but Danny catches the wounded man in his arms, his duffle bag falling heavily to the ground.

“What happened?” Danny starts panicking, throwing Miguel’s free arm around his shoulders and half carrying him over to his house. From the looks of it, Miguel’s still bleeding; they need to stop it before he completely bleeds out. “Miguel?”

“Stop calling me that ridiculous name, my name’s Derek.”

Danny’s confused, questions rising in his mind but he pushes them aside for the time being.

“I’m going to be fine,” Derek rasps out, coughing some blood on Danny’s front porch. He’ll have to clean that up later. “Just need to rest.”

“Yeah, right,” Danny snorts as he brings Derek in, carrying his body to the bathroom. Looking back on their steps, he’s relieved to see they didn’t leave any blood on the floor. It’s a good thing his parents start work early, they already went to bed. He lays Derek down on the tiled floor and grabs some clean towels and a bottle of antiseptic before taking Derek’s shirt off as carefully as possible, wincing when he sees the big slashes across Derek’s stomach. It looks like some bear tried to cut him open.

“Jesus,” Danny breathes out as he hurries to clean up the wounds, spraying alcohol all over the blood, cringing at Derek’s hisses of pain. Pink clear liquid runs down Derek’s skin on the white tiles as Danny pats Derek’s stomach as softly as possible with sterile compresses his dad brought back from the hospital. The cuts are too deep, and Danny’s afraid Derek will need stitches. There’s nothing he can really do. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“No,” Derek growls, trying to sit up but more blood comes out of the wound at the move, causing Danny to put him down on the floor with a firm grip on Derek’s shoulder.

“Don’t move,” Danny orders him.

“No hospital,” Derek says, looking at him with pleading eyes so blue it steals Danny’s breath away. Danny shouldn’t be this affected, it’s ridiculous. He doesn’t really know the guy, now even less than before—he’s assuming Derek’s not really Stiles’ cousin either.

“You need stitches, I won’t be much help,” Danny says dejectedly. This is exactly why he wants to go into medicine, he hates feeling powerless and clueless.

“I’ll be fine,” Derek repeats, eyes shut, hands reaching out for Danny’s. “I just need to rest.”

Danny sighs, still not convinced in the least. Danny stays with Derek for a while, hands applying pressure on his wounds to stop the haemorrhage. From where he’s crouching, he manages to get some water—thanks to his height—and hands it to Derek who most likely needs it.

“Who are you, really?” Danny asks as he puts down the plastic glass down beside Derek’s head, figuring he might as well try to get to know the stranger he’s harboring in his house. A stranger who, just a few hours ago, jumped on him like a sex starved man—not that Danny’s complaining about that part, but as far as he knows, this Derek guy could be a psychotic killer.

“Derek Hale.”

Ok, so psychotic killer it is, and wanted by the police too. Great.  What’s he supposed to do now? He can’t possibly tell him about the police looking for him; it might trigger the killer instincts in the guy.

“I’m not a killer,” Derek says, his gaze piercing right through Danny, as if he was just reading his thoughts.

“How am I supposed to believe that?” Danny retorts, checking the wounds that seem to have stopped bleeding and getting up to throw the towels in the sink before leaning on the edges of it with both hands, back turned on Derek.

“I don’t owe you any explanations,” Derek starts saying, heaving a sigh mid-sentence. “But I owe you my life, so I will explain. Later.”

Danny lets out a long breath, turning on the tap and splashing some much needed cool water on his face. He’s exhausted and could really use some sleep. Thank God he took a shower right after the game, he’s completely beat.

“What am I going to do with you?” Danny says aloud, turning around to look down at Derek on the floor. Before Derek can say anything, Danny turns back to the cabinet, taking some more compresses and large tegaderm film dressings. He doesn’t know much, but he at least learned the basics from his dad and knows how to dress a wound in sterile conditions. He already helped Derek so far, he might as well finish, Danny thinks. Besides, Derek doesn’t really strike him as a serial killer anyways.

“All right, hold still,” Danny instructs Derek as he washes his hands with hand sanitizer. “I’m going to patch you up.”

“Thank you,” Derek mutters, his gaze catching Danny’s. He looks so vulnerable and defenseless that Danny believes Derek might actually be sincere.

He doesn’t know how long it takes him to dress Derek’s wounds but to his surprise, the wounds somewhat seem smaller and more shallow than earlier. At least the compresses aren’t completely soaked in blood, indicating that there isn’t more bleeding occurring.

“Do you think you can get up?” Danny asks once he’s done, throwing his sterile gloves in the trashcan. He glances at his watch: midnight already. He’s glad this happened on a Friday night, he doesn’t think he would’ve been able to get up early enough for school.

“Yeah,” Derek replies, managing to sit up and with Danny’s help, they go upstairs to his bedroom.

“Hope you don’t mind sleeping in my bed, I’d rather not have my parents find you,” Danny says as he lays Derek down on his queen-sized bed. It’s a good thing he needs space when he sleeps and got this large bed; a single stopped being enough for him years ago. Derek shakes his head, settling more comfortably on top of the covers before falling quickly asleep.

Danny goes back downstairs to clean up after the mess they made, mainly in the bathroom, and retrieves his sports bag from outside. All while doing so, he can’t stop thinking about the man sleeping in his bed upstairs. He can’t deny he’s extremely attracted to Derek and he’s still confused about how Derek came to being hurt so badly—not to mention his wanted status by the entire state.

He locks after letting himself back in his bedroom, eyes fixed on the man sleeping soundly on his bed. He looks so peaceful, his angular face so beautiful in the moonlight, it suits him eerily well. Dressing down to his boxers and a tank top, Danny slips under the covers, back turned on Derek, and attempts to sleep, trying not to worry too much about tomorrow.

 


	2. Found myself caring

Derek wakes up with a start, the first sunrays peering through the window on his left, hands reaching out immediately to his abdomen to check his wounds. It’s just a little sore and as he undoes the bandages, all he sees are little scars remaining. It will heal completely in a couple days at most, but for now, he’s out of the woods. For now. And his uncle is probably looking for him still. Derek barely made it out of the hospital last night, he just got lucky his uncle was distracted justifying his unjustifiable actions. His uncle killed Laura, his own niece, all for what? For power. For revenge. And he hasn’t had enough, he wants to kill Derek too. So yeah, Derek had better things to do than to listen to his insane uncle explain why he had to kill the last members of his family.

Derek slumps back down on the bed, his chest heavy with sorrow as he thinks about his sister. He misses her so much and never even has time to mourn her death. This is why he chooses that exact moment, early in the morning when everyone is still sleeping, to let himself actually _feel_ something. Regret. Guilt. Grief. Laura accompanying him the first time he changed on a full moon. Laura playing with him when the other kids his age wouldn’t. Laura baking him cookies after he got home from school. Laura rocking him to sleep the first night after the fire. After what happened that day, it was just Laura and him and now he’s alone, the only family member he’s got left wanting him dead.

Wiping the tears away from his face, Derek gets up and stretches a little, not forcing too much because of his sore muscles. He’s still exhausted and can’t really bring himself to leave and do anything; he doesn’t have the will or the courage to face his uncle. He’s just so tired of his miserable life; he just wants peace for once.

The room smells strongly of Danny, the particular scent he’s learned to recognize overwhelming him. Turning around, he looks longingly at the bed, his body screaming to get under the covers and just sleep some more. But mostly he looks at Danny, the boy’s limbs spread out over Derek’s side of the bed, breathing slow and steady.

Derek caves and marches up to the bed, lifting the covers back over Danny before getting under them himself. It feels nice, sleeping on an actual mattress, not the sorry excuse for a bed he has back in his house. Derek can’t help himself, he rolls Danny on his right side and gathers him in his arms, hugging him close, Danny’s back pressed against him. Danny lets out a soft moan and actually leans into Derek, stirring out a strong sense of satisfaction that surprises him. It feels nice, Derek has to admit, tangling their legs together and nuzzling Danny’s nape, inhaling deeply his scent—he might be addicted to the smell. It should be weird, they barely know each other, Danny’s just a kid, which is why Derek should never have sexually assaulted him the way he did yesterday. In retrospect, Derek realizes just how inappropriate he was, even if he was driven by his instincts, he should have controlled himself better. He’s not a pup like Scott, he was born a werewolf, has had the urges forever, has learned to keep them at bay. But to be fair, he has rarely had to control sexual urges, he’s not used to them—especially as of late. God, he could actually be arrested for that—statutory rape, even thinking the words in his head makes him shiver—if not for the murders he didn’t commit. Still, somehow, holding Danny like this, sharing a bed together, listening to Danny’s steady heartbeat, his slow and calm breathing, it feels right. He could get used to this, Derek thinks before going back to sleep. Peace.

————————————————————

It’s six a.m. already and Danny still hasn’t showed up for their morning jog. Jackson’s starting to get antsy, he doesn’t like waiting for people. Scratch that, he _hates_ it and Danny damn well knows this fact about him and it’s just weird because Danny’s a very punctual person in general.

Tired of waiting, Jackson starts without him and runs down their usual jogging track around the neighborhood, passing by the numerous suburban houses at a steady pace. Until the passes by Danny’s house and stops, curiosity getting the best of him as his feet move towards the front door. Danny’s parents go to work early in the morning and his sister is in college far away from home so it’s just Danny, alone in the house.

Jackson smirks at the thought and climbs the couple of stairs up to the front porch, his smile fading away when he notices the blood stains on the white wood. Panic seizing him, he tries the front door but it’s locked so he runs around the house out back in the garden, where Danny’s bedroom window is facing and starts climbing up the wall.

He enters the room through the window, like he’s done so many times before and what he sees paralyzes him on the spot. There’s another man in Danny’s bed and they’re _spooning_. A lump forms in Jackson’s throat, his heart beating fast and his face flushed with anger. Looking closer, he recognizes the other man and his face turns cold: Derek Hale. What’s he doing here? How does he even know Danny? Is that why Danny was being so off yesterday? Was he hiding Derek from him?

Overwhelmed with jealousy, Jackson goes to Danny’s side of the bed, kneeling in front of him, looking at his best friend’s peaceful face. He dumped Lydia for Danny and right after that he finds him with a psycho in his bed. He shouldn’t have waited so long to make a move, he should’ve been braver. He’s always admired Danny for being out and proud at such a young age; he wishes he had the same strength.

It feels like heartbreak, seeing Derek’s arm wrapped possessively around Danny’s waist. Jackson reaches out and strokes Danny’s cheek with his hand, missing the old days when they used to have sleepovers as kids and they’d share the same bed. He startles when he feels a strong grip on his wrist, causing him to look up at Derek who is now wide awake and glaring at him, his grip on Jackson’s wrist strengthening.

“Hands off him,” Derek growls, sitting up as Jackson jerks his hand free.

“What are you doing here?” Jackson hisses in a low tone so as to not wake Danny up.

“What are _you_ doing here?” Derek shoots back, now standing up and approaching him menacingly, putting his body between Danny and Jackson.

“I’m just checking on Danny, he didn’t show up for our run,” Jackson explains, trying to hold his ground before Derek’s intimidating frame. “Why is there blood on the front porch? I swear to God if you hurt him, I’m—”

“What? What are you going to do?” Derek cuts him off, leaving Jackson at a loss for words. “I didn’t hurt him, it’s my blood you saw. Now leave.”

“I’m not leaving him alone with you,” Jackson retorts, hating the thought of Danny spending any time with Derek.

“He’s been alone with me _all night_.” The last words infuriate Jackson and his fist flies towards Derek before he realizes what he’s doing.

Derek catches his fist, his fingers crushing it and making Jackson scream in pain. “You’re just a selfish kid full of himself,” Derek spits at him as Jackson falls to his knees. “You don’t deserve him.”

Derek’s last words hit him the hardest, straight to where it hurts the most. Jackson’s insecurities about his own worth. The thing is, it might be true, what Derek just said. Jackson knows he is a jerk more often than not and has probably been taking Danny for granted for far too long. Danny has been his best friend for…forever, has been Jackson’s very first friend, actually. Sweet and strong Danny, who has always been there for him from the very beginning, who has always stuck by his side no matter what.

“What’s going on?” Danny asks, now awake, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

“Just an intruder,” Derek says, gesturing at Jackson.

“Jackson?” Danny looks at his cell phone and curses. “Damn, sorry man, I didn’t wake up for our run, obviously.”

“Danny, do you have any idea who that guy is?” Jackson asks him, standing up and pointing at Derek.

“Uh…” Danny trails off, looking perplexed. _Damn it,_ Jackson curses internally. Danny really doesn’t know, and it pisses Jackson off to know Derek’s taken advantage of Danny like this. Jackson is even less likely to leave now.

“You should leave,” Derek threatens Jackson again, and it’s starting to get on Jackson’s nerves. Who does Derek think he is, ordering him around like this?

“I told you I wasn’t leaving him alone with you, what right do you have telling me what to do? This isn’t your house!” Jackson exclaims and walks up to Danny, grabbing his forearm. “Come on, Danny, let’s go back to my place.”

It happens so fast it leaves Jackson lightheaded. Somehow he finds himself pinned to the wall, a hand around his throat, blocking his airway. Derek is glaring at him, eyes glowing and his fangs out. Shit, so Derek’s a werewolf too. Is everyone in this fucking town a werewolf now?

“Stop! Derek, leave him alone,” Danny shouts, coming up behind Derek, grasping his shoulder.

“You’re not going anywhere with him,” Derek hisses, his canines shifting back to normal and his fingers relaxing, letting Jackson breathe again. He coughs a little as he catches his breath, falling down to his knees.

“Derek, maybe it’s better if you do leave,” Danny tells Derek, to Jackson’s greatest relief.

He knew Danny would choose him, he always does and that’s why Jackson loves him. But still, there was that moment of doubt when Jackson wondered, wondered if Danny had already found someone in his life to gravitate around other than Jackson. As far as he knows, Jackson has been the only person in Danny's life and he never even thought that this could change, that Danny would find someone else. Actually, Jackson's surprised it hasn't happened sooner but now that it has, he doesn't know what to do. Derek Hale has entered Danny's life and doesn't seem ready to let go of him. Well, Jackson isn't either and will put up a fight if he has to.


	3. Left me torn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on FF.net.

Danny can see Derek's jaw clench after hearing his request and he can see through Derek's eyes that the last thing he wants is to leave. Danny isn't sure how to feel about that. Seconds ago, Derek had his best friend pinned to the wall with one hand around his throat. Danny truly feared for his best friend's life and sort of hates Derek for hurting Jackson. If anything, Danny can conclude that Derek's wanted status might not be completely off and that he shouldn't be anywhere near the man.

"Please leave, _now_ ," Danny repeats himself, stressing on the last word and helps Jackson get back on his feet. "Are you okay?"

Jackson nods in silence, his face still a little flushed, tears in his eyes. Danny feels like a fool, harboring a fugitive and actually sharing a bed with a murder suspect.

"I'm sorry," Derek says, his eyes pleading for forgiveness, his words lost on Danny. Derek's still shirtless and it's weird that Danny has seen him without clothing more often than not. He can't help but look though; he's only human. But now that he takes a good look at Derek's abdomen, it looks…way better than it did yesterday, the skin is nearly intact, Danny can barely see small scars, vestiges of last night's bigger slashes. Healing that fast isn't natural, and Danny is no doctor but he can at least tell that. Which begs the question, _Who or_ what _the hell is Derek?_

"You healed," Danny says, frowning and gestures at Derek's stomach. Derek catches Danny's hand, pulling him forward and puts it on his smooth, warm skin, sending shivers through Danny's fingertips.

"Thanks to you," Derek says in all seriousness, his damn blue eyes never leaving Danny's. Danny could swear the corner of Derek's mouth lifts up briefly, causing Danny to break into a shy smile despite himself. God, he's acting like a teenage girl, it's fucking embarrassing.

He hates how Derek affects him. It's beyond his own willpower, this…this thing, whatever it is between them, it's too intense, sensual, even the littlest touches get Danny undone. There's no denying it, Danny wants Derek, wants him _bad_ , even though he shouldn't; the dominant logical streak in him is screaming at him that Derek is just bad news. This is just physical attraction, pure and plain physical attraction with the added bonus of reciprocation. It's always harder to resist when the object of your desires shows just as much interest—if not more, in this case. The worst part being that Danny's pretty sure they were cuddling at some point in bed and that he actually enjoyed it. _Loved_ it, even. He's usually in and out of consciousness towards the end of his sleep cycle and remembers having arms around him and legs entwined with his. He had never slept so well in his entire life. Being the only out gay kid in a small town can get pretty lonely. Everyone around him couple up, every teenage couple he sees on TV are straight couples—save for some rare unrealistic exceptions—everyone has someone but him. And then comes Derek, gorgeous and interested in him. It almost seems too good to be true, now that Danny thinks about it. God, Danny's so confused; he doesn't know what to think of Derek, what stance he should take. How can Derek be strangling his best friend one moment and be so gentle with him the next? _But still, potential_ killer _here, Danny, remember ?_

Jackson coughs conspicuously behind him, interrupting their moment—yes, it's ridiculous to even think of it as that, Danny scolds himself—and snapping Danny out of his thoughts.

"Uh…you can borrow one of my shirts, they should fit you better than Stiles'," Danny offers with a softer tone, taking his hand back and points at his closet. Derek grabs a simple gray tee—that fits him perfectly, if Danny might add—and walks up to Danny, cupping his face and catching him by surprise with a tender kiss. Danny kisses back instinctively, remembering how it felt kissing Derek yesterday and yet feeling like it's so new. Danny's afraid he's already in too deep.

"Woah, hey, what's with the PDA, huh? Quit it!" Danny hears Jackson say but could care less, all he sees are Derek's lips mouthing a silent thank you, his eyes communicating just as much. Jackson abruptly grabs Danny's shoulders from behind, pulling him away from Derek. Jackson looks terribly upset, leaving Danny even more confused now. Could it be this is just Jackson being uncomfortable around two guys kissing? Is Jackson actually that homophobic? Danny would rather not think that his best friend's actually a homophobic asshole—he's had his doubts every now and then—because that's just not something Danny can tolerate. Danny doesn't think that's the problem though, Jackson had seemed pretty cool with Danny being gay when he came out a couple years ago.

Must be Derek then. Right, psychotic killer wanted by the entire state, Derek. It's looking bad already that Danny has to remind himself every five minutes that the guy he's attracted to is less than respectable. Jackson seems to know Derek, his earlier questions suggesting he even knows him better than Danny does—which wouldn't be difficult, in retrospect, Danny really doesn't know much about Derek. It's too many questions though and Danny only woke up a few minutes ago, he's definitely not ready to deal with this without at least his usual fix of coffee.

"I'm leaving," Derek says, thankfully not upset by Jackson's interrupting them, and Danny nods, almost regretting his decision of making Derek leave, which he really shouldn't. He should be glad that Derek's leaving, giving him a chance to forget about him and hope that he will never have to deal with him again.

"You still owe me some explanations," Danny reminds Derek before he can stop himself, as Derek crosses the threshold of his bedroom.

"I haven't forgotten," Derek replies, turning around one last time to look at him. "I'll be back."

Danny watches Derek leave for good and lets out a breath of relief, not realizing until now how tense he actually was. He turns his attention back to Jackson, only noticing now that his best friend's whole body is trembling, his face marred with terror.

"Hey, Jacks, you okay? He didn't hurt you too badly, did he?"

"I'm fine," Jackson replies but unconvincingly. Danny takes his best friend in his arms, hugging him tight and apologizing for getting him hurt. Jackson relaxes in his arms eventually, hugging him back. He knows Jackson isn't too fond of hugs—or any kind of displays of affection, really—but he figures his best friend could use the comfort right now. He's really at a loss now, even more so than yesterday. Jackson and Derek looked ready to rip each other's throat; Danny has rarely seen Jackson so riled up. And Derek's assault on Jackson only confirms what Danny had feared about the man he saved yesterday. Derek _is_ killer material, Danny's already established that fact; the way Derek had his hand on Jackson's throat? It was definitely scary. He still doesn't understand why Derek attacked Jackson so violently though, Jackson had barely touched his arm. "What was that all about?"

"You should stay away from that guy," Jackson warns him, pulling away to go sit on Danny's bed.

"That's what I was telling myself," Danny heaves a sigh, rubbing at his eyes tiredly and sits down beside Jackson. "But honestly, if anyone should stay away from him, it's you Jacks."

"What was he doing here in the first place anyways, Dan?"

"Uh, last night, I bumped into him near my house, he was badly hurt," Danny replies, recalling last night's events, how surreal it all seems now to him.

"And you just decided to help him out of the blue? A stranger? That you let sleep in your _bed_?"

"I uh…I thought he was Stiles' cousin," Danny explains, avoiding Jackson's scrutinizing gaze, not comfortable talking about their make out session at Stiles'. But then, Jackson already knows about that aspect of his relationship with Derek—if he can even call it like that. "We…kind of made out when we first met."

"Unbelievable," Jackson says, sounding exasperated.

"And how, exactly, do _you_ know him?" Danny asks him, wondering just why they were so hostile towards each other, to the point where Derek was strangling Jackson. Danny recalls the scene, the details still a little fuzzy because of his haze post waking up. All he remembers clearly is Derek strangling Jackson, setting Danny on full alert.

"I don't," Jackson answers vaguely and sighs, lifting down the collar of his tee shirt at his nape. "Remember those marks?"

"Yeah," Danny remembers Jackson shrugging his questions off, refusing to tell him anything. The last few weeks have been…tense. Jackson had been pulling away, distant. It hurt, to say the least, Danny's not afraid to admit that. Jackson has been his best friend forever, they've always been close. Up until Danny's coming out. Jackson and he have been drifting away ever since and it pains Danny to think that his being gay has caused this. He's not ashamed of who he is, if Jackson and he were to ever lose sight of each other, he wouldn't work himself over it. If people can't handle the fact that he's gay, it's their loss, Danny thinks. He's a good person, he's way smarter than most people—even if he doesn't like saying it, because most of the time he doesn't feel like it—and has ambition. He's going to follow his parents' footstep, go into medicine and accomplish something with his life. He just misses his best friend.

"Derek did this to me, a couple weeks ago," Jackson admits, looking him straight in the eye.

"What? How?" Danny can't believe it, taking a closer look at Jackson's neck, he can only conclude some kind of animal did this. They look like claw marks, pretty big claw marks. "And why would he do that to you? Did you provoke him or something?"

"He's a…" Jackson cuts himself off abruptly. "I don't know."

Here we go again with the lying, Danny thinks.

"You do know, you just won't tell me," Danny says, rising his tone, all the resentment he's accumulated the past few weeks coming back up. "You won't tell me anything lately, Jacks. What's going on with you?"

"Dan…hear me out—"

"I don't understand why he'd be so hostile to you; I don't believe he'd behave like this for nothing."

"Isn't it obvious?" Jackson snorts but Danny looks at him with wide eyes, shrugging. "Because of you, obviously."

"I don't follow you," Danny's completely out of the loop now and his exhaustion catches up with him, he yawns, stretching his arms high above his head.

"He's a jealous and possessive freak," Jackson says finally.

"What? Jealous of you?" Danny lets out a chuckle at the thought. Derek being jealous of Jackson, it's just a waste of energy. Danny falls back in bed, grabbing one of his pillows and settling comfortably. Jackson joins him, lying down next to him. "That's ridiculous, you're straight!"

"I know, right?" Jackson chuckles somewhat nervously, his smile crisped. Danny notices it and can't help but be curious. Could Jackson be…? No. Danny's definitely delirious without his morning coffee. Or his 9 hours of sleep. He yawns again, looking at the ceiling above them. He could use some more sleep, it's barely 7 a.m.

"Please don't hate me for doing this," Jackson says, getting back Danny's attention who turns to look at him and suddenly Danny feels lips pressed against his.

What. The. Fuck.


	4. Left me petrified

It takes Danny a second to realize that Jackson's kissing him and once he does, he pulls away immediately, standing up and putting as much distance as he can from Jackson. This did not just happen, he tells himself, Jackson did _not_ just kiss him, it can't be true.

"Dan…" Jackson places a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch and jerk his shoulder away. He's…not comfortable, to say the least. Jackson kissing him is…is crossing a line. A big line Danny thought was so obvious that it didn't need to be drawn in the first place.

"Dan, please hear me out, this is not easy for me," Jackson pleads, urging Danny to turn around and face him. Jackson looks even more scared than earlier when Derek was around; his lips are trembling ever so slightly, his eyes wide and his chest heaving rapidly, indicating that he's nervous. Danny's heart is pounding loud and fast against his sternum, the vibrations traveling all the way up to his auditory ossicles, thus making his heartbeats reverberate in his ears.

"Dan, I…uh…I'm…" Jackson's stammering, his hands are shaking too and Danny can see tears forming at the corner of his eyes. He knows the signs well enough—for having been through the himself—to recognize what's happening. He grabs Jackson and hugs him, holding the back of his head in his hand and whispering soothingly. Jackson starts sobbing quietly in his arms; Danny feels wetness on his bare shoulder and strokes his best friend's back. He'd never thought this could happen, had never worried about that, it had always been clear to him that Jackson was straight, end of story. It sort of  makes sense though, he guesses, now that he thinks about it. Danny's coming out fits the moment when Jackson started being distant from him emotionally and Danny can absolutely relate to that. The fact that Jackson's gay changes everything, it disrupts their whole friendship dynamic. When there's potential for more than friendship between best friends, it just makes everything awkward.

"Did you really have to kiss me to tell me?" Danny asks eventually, considering— _hoping_ —the kiss is just Jackson's way of coming out—granted, _weird_ way, but he guesses it could have been worse. It was just a peck, nothing significant.

"I kissed you because I wanted to," Jackson replies and pulls away to face him, looking confident as their eyes meet but Jackson's confidence quickly crumbles away before him. "Uh…wanted to see what it feels like. You know, kissing a dude."

Right. Ok. Of course. Danny can live with that. Better than the alternative. Jackson being gay is one thing—that he can take—but Jackson actually liking him? Danny would have no idea how to respond or how he'd even feel about that.

* * *

Jackson's a coward. He had the perfect opportunity to tell Danny about his feelings but he panicked and made up a stupid excuse about the kiss. Danny looked freaked out and Jackson was just scared to death about rejection. Especially that from what he saw, Danny seems infatuated with that Derek Hale. However, coming out to Danny is already a big step. That's right, he should take this one step at a time. Jackson's known he was gay pretty much his whole life, hoping at first that it would just go away, that it was a phase he would grow out of. Except he didn't and it just became more difficult for him, especially when he realized he was falling in love with his best friend. And when said best friend came out to him, it simply became impossible for him to ignore what he was feeling.

"I'm beat, I'm going to catch some more sleep," Danny says, rubbing at his eyes. God, Danny's got such beautiful eyes; Jackson will never get tired of losing himself in them. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jackson replies a bit more assertively and heaves a long sigh of relief, feeling much lighter all of a sudden. He never realized what a weight his secret was until now, just knowing that Danny knows about this is liberating. Danny's looking at him worriedly, still waiting for an answer. Jackson gulps down, "Can I…uh… stay with you?"

"Of course," Danny says, eliciting a huge wave of relief in Jackson.

They settle in Danny's large bed, just like old times, their bodies somehow remembering just how to fit together and they just fit perfectly—if Jackson may say so. Danny's laying on his back, Jackson on his side, arm wrapped around Danny's waist and Danny's own arm wrapped around his shoulders. It's been so long since they've last done this—Danny's grown into the body of a man now, all muscles and broad shoulders—and yet it feels like they've done this just yesterday. Except yesterday Danny slept with Derek, Jackson recalls with bitterness.

This is what Jackson wants for the rest of his life, he thinks as he tightens his hold around Danny, he wants Danny by his side and no one between them.

* * *

Derek doesn't know where to go. He's been wandering around town for hours, putting his senses on full alert, trying to detect his uncle's scent in order to avoid him. He's not completely recovered yet so if he were to face off his uncle now, he'd be dead meat in no time. Going back to the house would be the worst idea possible, his uncle would obviously look for him there. Going back to Danny might actually put the latter in danger. If his uncle were to find out about Danny, he would most certainly try to use Danny to get to Derek. And that's the last thing Derek wants, dragging Danny in his messy life. He should be freaked out about his quick attachment to the kid, it's come to the point where he thinks about Danny most of the time. He thinks about Danny's kind eyes, Danny's strong thighs wrapped in his, Danny's enticing scent. It worries him, Derek can barely understand what it is about Danny that has him so infatuated, it's almost…supernatural.

Could it be though? Could this attraction he feels towards the teenage kid be the fruit of some spell? Derek doesn't know much about werewolves mating rituals and courting to actually know.

"Derek!"

He turns around and sees Stiles coming his way. Taking an actual look around him, Derek realizes he's ended up in the suburban part of the city, where most houses are, the sun hitting hard today, the sky almost clear of any clouds. Stiles is right on time. Derek could stay at Stiles' place, at least temporarily, until he finds a better solution. Uncle Peter knows who Stiles is and would probably come after him too, since Stiles is Scott's friend, that makes him a likely target to get to Derek _and_ Scott.

"You're okay! Oh my God, I thought you were going to get killed," Stiles says in his usual rushed tone.

"I almost did," Derek replies dryly. "What time is it?"

"Er…2 p.m., why?" Stiles says, looking back up from his cell phone, eyes squinting at Derek.

"I need somewhere to lay low until I can figure things out."

"Well, where have you been hiding up until now?" Stiles asks, still being his curious self as he walks alongside Derek, ignoring Derek's implied request to stay at his place.

"I stayed at Danny's, he found me in my poor state and helped me," Derek answers truthfully, surprising himself with his sudden honesty.

"So why don't you just stay at his place? His parents are barely home, from what I've gathered," Stiles suggests, stating exactly what Derek doesn't want to do no matter how much he would actually love spending more time with Danny.

"No," Derek rejects the idea quickly. "No, it would be too dangerous."

"Oh, nice, you're willing to put me in danger but not him, cool," Stiles says, sounding offended.

"You've willingly put yourself in danger from the get go by putting your nose where it doesn't belong, and besides, my uncle has already seen your face so you're already in danger," Derek retorts, already annoyed by the boy. "And think about it this way, if I'm with you, my uncle will be so focused on killing me that you'll have time to escape."

"Huh, that actually made sense."

Stiles' phone rings then and he excuses himself to answer it.

"Hello Stiles."

Derek hears the voice and it makes him shiver. Uncle Peter. He snatches the phone from the boy, heart speeding up.

"Uncle Peter."

"Oh my God, it's your psycho killer uncle," Stiles starts panicking beside him, urging Derek to shush him with a threatening look.

"Why, hello, Derek," Peter says with a delighted tone, unnerving him greatly. "I thought your parents had raised you better than that, it's rude to interrupt someone's conversation."

"What do you want from Stiles? How'd you get his number?"

"Futile details," Peter says evasively. "I actually wanted him to deliver a message to you."

"Just spit it out," Derek hisses, rage surging through him as he thinks back to what his uncle did to his sister. But then he hears something over the phone that just seizes his heart and squeezes it painfully, leaving him dead cold in a fraction of a second. He hears Danny's voice, he hears Danny screaming in pain, his screams are so loud and desperate that Derek can feel the atrocious pain he must be feeling. What he's been trying to avoid happened already, his uncle got Danny and is even torturing him. It's the worst feeling in the world, his legs are shaking, menacing to give out and fall to the ground.

"What's going on?" Stiles asks him, his body close to Derek's, trying to listen in. He must have seen the difference in Derek's stance, how tense he's gotten.

"I assume you've heard your little boy toy, he's quite the screamer, isn't he?" Peter chuckles. "Well, now you know I have something to give you the incentive to actually listen to me. You left so soon last night, we didn't get to talk properly."

"I'm not suicidal, uncle Peter," Derek says, his voice crisped. "Leave Danny out of this, if you want me just say so, don't involve innocent people like a coward!"

"He's got Danny? Oh God," Stiles mutters and again with the _Oh God_ over and over. It just sets Derek over the edge, his hand fisting over Stiles' shirt to shut the kid up. Stiles raises his hands up in the air in surrender, effectively shutting up so Derek releases his grip on him, trying to center himself and calm down, in vain.

"I wish it was that simple but you've been avoiding me Derek, don't even try to deny it," Peter replies and more screams make themselves heard over the phone, making Derek flinch. "I traced you back to this Danny last night; it was quite easy to get him. He was fast asleep in the arms of another boy. Did you know, Derek?"

 _In the arms of another boy_ , Derek's heart skips a beat. Must be Jackson. Damn it. Just like that, as jealousy takes over, all Derek can hear is his heart beating, loud and intrusive, stressing him out even more than he already is. Images of Jackson stuck to _his_ Danny flashes through his mind, raising his core temperature and killer instincts in him.

"Come back to our old family house in the woods, Derek," Peter instructs him, bringing him out of his haze. "I'm no doctor, but I'm guessing it doesn't take long for a human to bleed out."

Now panic has fully blossomed inside of him, making every single hair on his body stand up. He feels so powerless, he's petrified on the spot, scared to death for Danny's well being.

" _Please_ , I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt him anymore," Derek begs unashamedly, tears forming in his eyes despite himself, his chest constricted and breathing becoming difficult. He hates it, knowing that Danny's hurt, suffering because of him.

"This plan's working even better than I thought," Peter rejoices. "I'll see you soon, then."

Derek drops the phone to the ground and runs, ignoring Stiles yelling after him. Derek's never been that scared in his whole life. And so he runs, ignoring the sore muscles of his abdomen and hopes, _prays_ even, for Danny to wait for him and just hold on.


	5. Will protect you

"Derek, it's so nice of you to join us."

Uncle Peter is just behind the front door to welcome him when Derek gets to his house, a soft smile on his handsome face, hands behind his back. Derek merely acknowledges his presence, searching for Danny's heartbeat, his scent, anything that might point him to the right direction. He starts walking towards the stairs but his uncle blocks his way.

"Ta ta ta," Peter says. "Not so fast young man, let's have a little chat first."

"I want to see him," Derek glares at his uncle, the urge to snap his neck right there and then getting pretty strong. Though not as strong as the need to see Danny, to touch him, to gather him in his arms and never let go.

"Why, of course you do," Peter walks around him, putting his hands on Derek's shoulders from behind and leaning close to his ear. "He is your mate, after all."

Mate? The word makes Derek steel, his heart skipping a beat. What does he mean by that?

"You were never taught about the mating process of our species, you and Laura, were you?" Peter says as he puts his arm around Derek's shoulder. Derek's mind freezes on the spot, his feet stuck to the old wooden floor. Danny…his actual mate? Could it be? Derek _has_ been inexplicably attracted to Danny, has gotten attached fast. He doesn't know nearly enough about wolf mates to understand this. No, they never were taught about werewolves mates, their parents never got the chance to and you can't exactly learn this in textbooks. And his uncle bringing his sister up only infuriates him furthermore. His uncle killed his sister and Derek still hasn't gotten over that fact.

"All right, I suppose your mind won't be at rest until you see him, will it? Let's go see your boy toy, shall we?"

"Stop calling him that," Derek hisses as his uncle takes him up the stairs, arm still securely wrapped around his shoulders, apparently not planning on letting him go any time soon. Derek is wary of his uncle, and stays alert. The latter does want to kill him, after all. They walk into Derek's old bedroom, where he's set up since his come back into town and the sight before Derek strikes him hard. Danny is unconscious, metal bars plucked in each of his shoulder joints, pinning him to Derek's poor excuse of a bed consisting of sheets and covers he arranged on an old mattress he found on the floor. The blood worries him the most, there's so much blood; dried blood and fresh sharp red blood still oozing out of Danny. It looks so bad Derek wants to cry, and he's about to rush to the boy's side, antsy to remove the bars from Danny, when his uncle puts a firm hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place.

"Relax, it's not as bad as it looks."

His uncle's last words set Derek off _. Not as bad as it looks_? Right. Fuck him. Derek changes into his wolf state, grabbing his uncle's forearm and throwing his body like a dead weight into the nearest wall, watching it explode in pieces because of the impact. It surprises him how he manages to summon that much strength but he doesn't care, he just runs to Danny's side and quickly plucks the bars from the boy's shoulders, causing him to cry in pain and wake up from his unconscious state. The agony Danny's going through seeps through to Derek, and he can somehow feel the pain in his own shoulders as well.

"I'm so sorry," Derek whispers, feeling tears shedding down his cheeks as his hands frame Danny's face. Thankfully, Danny falls back into unconsciousness, his body probably too weak from the blood loss. Derek's scared, forcing himself to focus on Danny's steady heartbeat to reassure himself as he lays Danny's head on his lap. "I'm _so_ sorry."

"That wasn't nice."

Derek turns around and looks back up at his uncle. He looks expectedly annoyed and Derek stands up, bracing himself for a fight.

"I don't want to fight you, Derek," Peter heaves a tired sigh and walks past him, making a move to sit on the mattress but Derek is on full alert and moves in front of Danny, fretting his uncle attacking the boy again.

"Don't even think of getting anywhere near him, back _off_ ," Derek growls, satisfied when his uncle does step back, hands risen in the air.

"Look at him, he's already healing," his uncle points at the wounds he made, shifting Derek's attention back to Danny. Taking a closer look, sitting down beside Danny, Derek can see that the wounds actually are healing. What should have been deep holes in the shoulder joints are actually more shallow than expected. It's healing _fast_ , unnaturally fast.

"How is that possible?" Derek wonders out loud, the bleeding having now stopped. His gaze trails up to Danny's face and he can't help but reach out once again, stroking Danny's cheek.

"This young man is a hybrid," his uncle answers him, gaining his attention back. Derek looks at him with a questioning look, urging him to go on. "He wasn't born from two werewolves, just one, making him half werewolf, half human. Hybrids are even rarer than us, and the first change in hybrid occurs at maturity so up until then, most of them don't even know what they are. They can't change at will, only under the influence of the full moon. Their physiology is half way between human and werewolves, they are stronger than human but not stronger than a full blooded werewolf; the same goes for the other senses enhancements."

"How do you know all that stuff?" Derek asks his uncle; still processing all the information he's been given. It all sounds so unreal. Danny…a hybrid? A half blooded werewolf. Is his uncle just messing with him? How could Derek not notice it? "How do you even know Danny's a hybrid?"

"I'm an alpha, Derek, I'm the only one who could pick up on that before the first change," his uncle replies and crouches down beside him. "I actually didn't know until I approached the kid."

"Wait, this means that there's another werewolf in this town? One of Danny's parents?" the realization strikes him all of a sudden. He always thought his family were the only werewolves in town, never bothered to look for others. What would have been the point anyway?

"Yes, but that's not important," his uncle says, standing up. He's right, it's really not important right now. What's important is Danny's well being and Derek's endangered life. "We still have things to discuss, you and I."

"I'm not letting you kill me until I know for sure that Danny will be safe," Derek takes a protective stance over the unconscious boy as he holds his uncle's gaze.

"I have no intention of killing you, Derek," his uncle sighs again, rubbing his face tiredly. "You're the only family I have left; you're part of my pack, why would I kill you?"

"You said so yesterday and the family thing didn't stop you from killing Laura or almost ripping me in half, _twice_ ," Derek spats at him, rage fueling his words.

"I wasn't conscious of my actions when I attacked Laura, and besides, you know how it is when you tap into the animal in you, you don't have a great control over it, especially when you're an alpha still in convalescence!" his uncle shoots back, anger showing in his voice for the first time. He takes a deep breath to calm down and continues, "I love you kids like my own, Derek, you know that. I loved her like my own daughter; don't you think it killed me when I realized what I'd done to her?"

"You still threatened to finish the job and kill me," Derek reminds him, not forgetting his uncle's explanation from last night. Something to do with Derek and Laura holding their father's legacy as an alpha, his uncle not being able to enjoy fully his rights as the new alpha as long as his dead brother's children still lived.

"You misunderstood me," Peter says. "I did say killing you would make me stronger but you drew quick conclusions without making me finish. Having you in my pack makes me much stronger than having you dead, especially now that you've found your mate."

"Well, you'll have to excuse me, Uncle Peter, but it's sort of hard for me to trust you right now," Derek tells him, looking back at Danny to make his point. Danny who is still unconscious, only wearing his bloodied tank top and his boxers. Jesus, his uncle really abducted him right out of his bed. He gathers Danny in his arms, wrapping them around Danny's upper body, resting him on his lap. He feels better holding Danny close to him, his hand stroking Danny's cheek so naturally it feels like he's been doing this his entire life.

"I understand that perfectly," Peter replies, his eyes studying them. "But try and put yourself in my shoes, what other choice did I have to bring you here?"

"Anything but hurting him," Derek replies matter-of-factly.

"Ah, but see, that's exactly why I did it, what better leverage could I get other than your mate, mhh?"

"I don't understand," Derek murmurs, all his questions about wolf mates still unanswered. "What do you mean by mate anyways?"

"What do you know about werewolf mates?" His uncle asks Derek as he grabs the only chair present in the room and takes a sit by the window.

"Not much, that's why I'm asking you," Derek replies with disdain.

"Werewolves are said to have one unique mate that they keep for life, a strong bond linking them from the day they are born," Peter starts explaining, sounding the least interested in what he's saying. "Once they meet, it's love at first sight or some crap like that, the bond is awaken and they just can't stay away from one another. It's something that you can feel, this bond, Derek."

"All right," Derek mutters more to himself than to acknowledge what his uncle just said to him. "Let's say everything you just said is true, how would you know about me and Danny when _I_ didn't even have a clue?"

"I didn't," his uncle replies. "I didn't know for sure until I saw you break down on the phone like a girl and run all the way here to get to your boy toy."

"You hurt him...to get to me," Derek says slowly, "when he could have been a simple stranger to me with no significance whatsoever?"

"Come on now, Derek, do you really think my comatose years have rendered me mentally defective?" his uncle looks amused and somehow Derek finds the sight of his uncle smiling just a little bit disturbing. "I followed your trail last night, saw you sleeping with the kid and watched you get all territorial on his ass, anyone could've picked up on that with a behavior like yours."

Derek remains silent after hearing his uncle's last words, not sure what to think now. Danny being his mate does explain a lot of things. That first time they met, from the moment he inhaled Danny's scent, Derek lost control and jumped him despite himself. And he hasn't been able to keep Danny out of his mind ever since.

"Now, that's all very fine, but we still have some business to attend to," his uncle interrupts his train of thoughts. "Namely, the revenge those damn hunters are waiting for."

"What about it?" Derek asks carefully, studying his uncle's face.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to help me kill those sons of bitches, avenge our family," his uncle replies, putting his hands on his knees to stand up from his seat on the rotten chair, his eyes never leaving Derek's.

It doesn't take Derek long to respond. "I'm in."

He wants those hunters to burn.


	6. Will resist you

Danny wakes up slowly, exhaustion still very much holding him, and realizes he's in bed. His bed actually, he recognizes the smell of his shampoo in the warmth of the pillow he's resting on, and he sees his desk in front of his bed through blurry eyes. He stretches and lingers in the comfort of his plush sheets, shutting his eyes and grabbing his pillow, planning on sleeping some more. But then images flash through his mind. An old house. Burnt walls. A strange man attacking him violently. He sits up, reaching for his shoulders instinctively and cringes at the pain the sudden movement stirs up. His heart rate has picked up at the sudden movement to compensate the head rush. He can see and feel scars, superficial scars where the metal rods were. He remembers the excruciating pain, he remembers the blood flowing down his arms, he remembers screaming his lungs out, and his sore throat can attest to that. So it did happen. It wasn't a nightmare, he was kidnapped. Damn it, he could've actually died, he realizes.

Then why didn't he? How is he still alive? Alive and well too, apart from the tiny scars and the remaining pain, Danny is far better than he should be, considering the wounds he was afflicted with-he's even wearing clean clothes, a white tee and another pair of briefs. Someone changed his clothes and Danny doesn't know whether he should worry about that. All of the blood has been cleaned from his skin and he can faintly smell alcohol, relieved that his wounds were at least cleaned decently.

"How are you feeling?"

Danny startles and turns to the voice on his right. Derek. Of course. Danny should've known the mysterious man had something to do with his abduction. Derek's staring at him from the side, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, as though he's been standing guard. Danny would've remembered Derek stabbing him; it wasn't Derek, it was someone else. Danny's still a little fuzzy on the details though.

"What are you doing here?" Danny asks painfully, his throat extremely dry, standing up from the bed when he suddenly feels lightheaded and sees black. He feels strong arms wrapping around his middle right when his legs give out under him and can't help but notice how enticing Derek's scent is, how familiar it feels. He blinks several times, trying to see clearly but his sight is all blurry and the dizziness won't go away. He must've lost a lot of blood, he's probably in hypotension, hence the feeling of imminent fainting that's washing over him.

"You shouldn't have tried getting up, you're still weak after all the blood you lost," Danny hears a soft, concerned voice, somehow sounding funny coming from the broody man Derek seems to be. He feels a cold glass in his left hand and warm fingers maneuvering his own to hold the glass.

"Here, drink this," Derek says and Danny does so, thankful for the cool water.

"Thanks," Danny mumbles, giving the glass back to Derek who is still supporting his weight with his arm wrapped around Danny's waist, one of Danny's arms draped over Derek's broad shoulders.

"You haven't answered my question," Danny reminds Derek. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought you back," Derek answers him and that only covers one of the million questions Danny has.

Danny shuts his eyes and more images flash through his mind, trying as best as he can to focus on them. His heart doesn't slow down as he relives through what happened to him and he remembers how it happened. He was in bed when he was taken; he remembers a firm hand applying what he assumes was chloroform over his mouth and nose. He was in bed, with Jackson. Jackson. Danny hopes he's all right, he hadn't even thought about it.

"Jackson, I need to check on him," Danny says and looks around the bedroom for his phone, finding the task quite difficult given his state. "He was with me before I was kidnapped."

Danny hears a growl coming from the man beside him, the sound sending shivers down his back. Danny shouldn't be able to pick up on that, but it sounds like jealousy, he's almost sure that's what the growl is about. Jackson was right. Derek _is_ jealous and Danny doesn't know how to feel about that. What right does Derek have to feel jealous anyway? He and Derek are not in a relationship, they don't actually know each other and Danny just escaped from a death situation he's pretty certain Derek was involved in.

He breaks away from Derek's grasp and falls to the floor, crawling as best as he can until he does find his phone, and he scrolls through his contacts list until he gets to Jackson's number.

"Why do you care so much about him, huh?" Danny hears Derek say spitefully as he helps Danny get back up on his feet.

"Why do _you_ care?" Danny shoots back as he taps on the call button, relieved when Jackson picks up immediately.

"Dan! Dan, are you okay?" his best friend sounds panicked; Danny can hear him breathing heavily over the phone. Danny climbs back into his bed, still feeling incredibly weak, ignoring Derek's figure hovering above him.

"I'm all right," Danny reassures his best friend, rolling onto in his back, covering his eyes with an arm.

"You're back home, right? When I woke up you were gone and your phone was still on your night stand so you must be home, right? You didn't leave any message and you didn't take your shoes, your car was still in the garage, you hadn't taken your keys and I looked everywhere for you and the police said you couldn't file a missing person report until after 48 hours—"

"Jacks," Danny interrupts his best friend who can't stop talking—that's what fear and stress will do to Jackson—feeling terrible that he had to go through such a painful moment. "Jacks, I'm okay, really. Do you want me to come over?"

"You're not going anywhere," Derek says, taking the phone right out of his hand.

"Hey! That's not your decision to make," Danny protests, sitting up but Derek pushes him back down gently with one hand on his chest and, after letting out a defeated sigh, Derek hands him back his phone.

"Look, you're too weak to move, you're still healing," Derek says with a gentler tone, his God damn blue eyes somehow softening as they peer into Danny's, causing all of the anger Danny just felt drain out of him. Danny curses himself for being so responsive to Derek, he hates being this vulnerable and weak around the man. "Just…"

Derek takes a deep breath, his eyes shut and his face marred with a frown. "Just tell him to come over," Derek finishes, as though the words require an incredible effort on his part. And perhaps it does, Danny thinks.

"Dan? Dan what's going on?" Danny hears Jackson's muffled voice from his phone, bringing his attention back to his friend.

"Jacks, could you come over instead? I'll explain everything," Danny says, even though he wouldn't have much to explain, considering he doesn't know much anyhow.

"I'm already on my way, see you in a few," Jackson replies and hangs up, leaving Danny alone again with Derek—speaking of whom, when Danny looks back at him, Derek lies beside him on the bed and takes him in his arms, hugging him tightly to his chest. Danny lets himself be handled by the other man, too tired to do much anyway. Besides, the way Derek holds him feels too good to fight it.

"I'm so sorry," Derek whispers, his breath tickling Danny's neck. "I never wanted you to get caught up in my mess."

 _I'm so sorry._ Danny remembers the words, remembers the voice, the despair and the feel of hands on his face. Derek was there. He was in the house, where Danny was held captive and tortured. He remembers more clearly now, his kidnapper's face, his silence before Danny's questions, his phone call to Derek before he violently stabbed him in the shoulders.

Danny shifts on the bed, rolling on his other side to face Derek, whose gaze is so intense Danny feels like Derek can see into his very own soul.

"You owe me some explanations, I'd like to hear them," Danny asks him, thinking now is the perfect time for Derek to explain everything. He doesn't know where Jackson is, but surely it will take his best friend some time to get to his house. "What happened to me?"

"I guess I'd better start by telling you about me," Derek breathes out, his eyes still fixed on Danny, his hand on Danny's cheek, his thumb stroking soothing circles on his skin. It's such an intimate moment, something Danny never dreamt he'd live to experience. He admonishes himself for falling for the distraction. He turns his head away from Derek's hand but in vain, Derek won't quit it, his hand not leaving Danny's face. Danny gives up, meeting Derek's gaze again and tries to ignore the hurt he sees in Derek's eyes.

"I'm a werewolf," Derek whispers, his face dead serious.

Danny remains silent, not sure what to say or even _think_. There's no such thing, there's no supernatural in this world, there _can't_ be. In Danny's world, everything is ruled by logic, physics, and chemistry, not magic or anything of the likes. Derek must be messing with him, this just _can't_ be true. And still, Danny somewhat knows Derek's telling the truth.

"Danny?" Derek says his name worriedly; thumb having stopped moving but his hand still resting on Danny's face.

"You're a werewolf," Danny mutters, avoiding Derek's gaze, looking down at their tangled legs and wondering when they came to intertwine like this, like it's the most natural thing in the world.

"Yes."

"And you're wanted by the entire state because…"

"Scott McCall put the blame on me, for something I didn't do," Derek explains, moving his hand down to Danny's neck. "My sister was killed, I came back into town looking for her murderer."

"Why would Scott do that? How do you even know him?" Danny asks him, appalled by the news of Derek's sister. Could it be Derek's sister was that poor girl the police found in the woods a few weeks ago?

Derek spends a good ten minutes telling Danny his story and Danny listens—he's a good listener—filling in the blanks in his mind, everything falling into place. Derek tells him about the Hale house accident years ago, the young woman who was found dead in the woods, Scott's being a werewolf, all the recent animal attacks, Jackson's neck wound but most importantly, Derek's uncle, the alpha or whatever. Danny's abductor and assailant, the one responsible for all the deaths in town, the one who wounded Derek so badly the other night. Danny can only imagine what a terrible life Derek's had to live so far. Danny can hardly believe everything he's told, cannot believe how all that happened while he was leading his life as carefree as ever. He feels bad for Derek, he can't even imagine how he'd feel if he lost his own sister.

"What did he want with me?" Danny asks about Derek's uncle, the reason why he got kidnapped still unclear to him.

"He used you to get to me," Derek replies, his face is guilt-ridden and Danny wishes he could make it go away. Inching closer, Danny presses their foreheads together and presses a kiss on Derek's lips, rediscovering the thrill of the touch, eliciting a soft moan from the other man. This is just Danny's way of telling Derek he forgives him—even if Derek isn't really to blame for what happened to him—his way of thanking Derek for taking care of him, and Danny blushes when he realizes Derek has seen him naked.

He doesn't want Derek in his life though; Danny's already made up his mind about that. Even if he does know Derek a little bit better now, Danny can't afford to keep Derek as part of his entourage. He wants to live a normal life, not a dangerous one, he doesn't think he can handle living in a supernatural world with werewolves and God knows what else.

"You should go," Danny says softly, pulling away from Derek who seems reluctant to let go of him, Derek's legs clenching Danny's in a firm grip.

"I don't want to leave you," Derek's voice breaks, his eyes look so sad it tears Danny's heart apart. He doesn't really want Derek to leave either, truthfully. Nevertheless, Danny's determined, he doesn't want anything to do with Derek, much less a relationship with him—even if he actually wants it—and he will fight until the end to prevent that. He doesn't want a life ridden with fear and worries about the police or psychotic alpha werewolves. He wants to be a normal teenager; he wants to worry about his SATs, about college, med school and so on.

"Why are you so attached to me?" Danny asks _the_ question he's been keeping in mind the whole time. Derek has been so possessive, his inexplicable jealousy making things really awkward for Danny. It's almost creepy how Derek is attached to him. Is this a werewolf thing? "I mean, you barely know me, I'm just a kid."

"You're not just any kid," Derek counters. "You're…"

Derek stops himself midsentence, looking hesitant, leaving Danny puzzled.

"I'm what?"

Before Derek can answer him, the door to Danny's bedroom opens and Danny sees Jackson barge in, his face flushed and his chest heaving quickly. Jackson frowns and his jaw clenches as he looks at them, his eyes looking back and forth between Danny and Derek until they settle on glaring solely at the other man in Danny's bed.

"You," Jackson points at Derek, marching menacingly towards him. It all feels déjà vu, Jackson and Derek fighting over him, and Danny is tired of this charade. "I knew you were behind his disappearance, just stay away from Danny!"

"Jacks, calm down," Danny says and tries to sit up again, regretting his action as he feels the head rush coming back. Derek lays him back down gently on the bed and stands up.

"Did he hurt you? Dan, are you okay?" Jackson asks him, his hands curled up in fists.

"Rest," Derek whispers in his ear before leaving a quick peck on his cheek, the affectionate kiss causing Danny's heart to skip a beat.

"Believe what you want, but I would never want to hurt him," Derek tells Jackson and leaves the room after one last longing glance at him, a longing glance that Danny doesn't a give damn about. Nope. It doesn't affect him how much Derek cares about him and he certainly doesn't feel Derek's emotions through every eye contact.

"What the hell's going on, Dan?" Jackson demands as he approaches his bed, still trying to catch his breath. "Where were you?"

"You better sit down."


	7. Caught in between

It’s so sudden Danny loses his breath for a second, sitting up abruptly from his bed, a heavy weight in his chest constricting his heart painfully. It’s so excruciating Danny has to check for actual wounds but he finds none.

“Dan? Dan what’s going on?” Jackson is right by his side and Danny feels even worse when he looks at his best friend, the sight of Jackson somehow exacerbating the pain. Danny looks away and turns his back to Jackson, relief washing over him when the strange feeling weakens, allowing Danny to breathe more properly. It’s still there, but it’s not as overwhelming. Even though Danny’s never experienced it before, it feels like heartbreak, and he wonders where it came from.

“I’m all right,” Danny says, swallowing hard, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “I’m all right, just a nightmare,” Danny lies and lets out a deep breath.

It’s strange but Danny is sure what he’s feeling right now is coming from Derek. It’s all jealousy, longing and pain mashed up together. He gets out of bed and walks up to his window, looking outside for any sign of the man, and as expected, there he is crouching on the rooftop, staring at him with sad puppy dog eyes Danny never thought could be achieved by a gruff-looking man like Derek. The pain spikes up as their eyes meet and for a moment it looks like Derek’s about to come his way, but he doesn’t move one inch, thankfully.

Still, it’s too much for Danny to handle, he closes his window and draws the curtains over it, leaning back against it, eyes squeezed shut. He wants Derek so bad right this instant, the need has never been that strong before, it’s…wait. Is that a thing? A _werewolf_ thing? That must be it, Derek must have done something to him. It makes sense now, Danny realizes, the way Derek has been acting, the way he affects Danny. Derek must have done something, like an enchantment or whatever? God, even thinking it sounds ridiculous but there can’t be any other explanation, can there?

“Dan, you’re freaking me out,” Jackson says, now standing in front of Danny, his hand cupping his cheek to lift his face up and meet his concerned eyes.

“Derek’s a werewolf,” Danny blurts out, flinching at the touch and turning his head away from Jackson’s hand, looking for any distraction available. Jackson has never been a very touchy kind of guy and honestly, neither is Danny, he feels uncomfortable having his best friend touching him so…intimately. Talking now seems the best option; he lifts his sleeves up his shoulders to show Jackson his scars. “Derek’s uncle, who is also a werewolf by the way, kidnapped me and attacked me, that’s what happened.”

“Oh my God,” Jackson breathes out, his fingertips grazing the exposed skin.

“See those scars? He had me tied up, and then he stabbed me.”

“Dan,” Jackson looks at him, wide-eyed and mouth gaped open. “Your scars, they’re gone.”

Danny looks down at his shoulders, left and right, hands smoothing over the intact skin. Now that’s completely surreal. How could he heal that fast? It worries him, scares him even and he can’t help wondering if something happened to him. He can’t help but think about the wounds Derek healed so fast from last night. Does it have anything to do with Derek? Or his psycho uncle? They did something to him, it’s the only explanation Danny can come up with—a succinct explanation, but an explanation nonetheless. Humans don’t heal that fast, not from the wounds Danny suffered. He curses repeatedly under his breath, not wanting to believe one second that he somehow changed, that’s he’s not…that he’s not himself anymore, that the irreparable has happened.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jackson shakes his shoulder lightly, bringing Danny’s attention back to him. Danny nods briefly, trying to conceal how freaked out he is.  Then again, it’s not much use; Jackson’s always been able to tell when something is wrong with him. The day Danny came out to him, all Jackson did was giving him a hug and telling him he already knew.

“I’m being a crappy host,” Danny says, trying to change the subject. “Do you want something to drink? I’m so sorry, you’ve been looking for me—”

“ _Don’t_ apologize, damn it, Dan,” Jackson cuts him off brusquely. “You were almost killed because of that Derek bastard, of course I was looking for you, and it wasn’t your fault, so don’t you dare apologizing, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Danny concedes and breaks into a smile, moving away from the window—away from _Derek—_ and towards the bathroom. “I’ll just grab a shower, feel free to use the other bathroom.”

“Wait, Dan,” Jackson grabs his hand firmly, his expression stern and determined—a look Danny has seen often by now—when Danny turns around to face him. “Tell me something.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s really going on between you and Derek? I mean, are you two…? Did you two…?”

“No, God no, we didn’t…actually sleep together,” Danny replies awkwardly, a little bit taken aback by the question and quite embarrassed to talk about it with Jackson. Though he supposes Jackson’s entitled to know, given the circumstances. “There’s nothing, Derek and I…we’re nothing, at least I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“Didn’t seem like it,” Jackson mutters, looking down at his feet and back up at him.

“I can’t explain it, Jacks,” Danny admits, figuring he might as well tell Jackson everything, even if his explanations probably won’t be any. “He…he just makes it hard for me to resist, it’s like every time he touches me, I’m on fire. I mean, you’ve got to admit, he’s smoking hot.”

“ _You are_ smoking hot,” Jackson retorts, causing Danny’s brain to just black out for a moment, his eyes open wide and staring at his best friend who looks like he just let the cat out of the bag.

“Wh…what?”

“Uh…I mean…” Jackson stutters and Danny still doesn’t know what to say. Not thinking, Danny just flees to the bathroom, locking behind him and leaning back against the white wooden door. Why is this Danny’s life? How can this be his life? Is some sadistic playwright having fun playing puppeteer with every single person in his life and turning it into a dramatic play? This is getting ridiculous, it feels like a joke, like camera men are going to appear out of nowhere and tell him that this was all a prank. Except that Danny knows this is real, this is actually happening and he can’t do anything to stop it.

“Dan…” Jackson knocks frantically and Danny tries to tune him out as he slides down the door until he hits the cold tiled floor. Jackson had better have a good explanation; although Danny’s positive he won’t like what he hears if he does ask for it. He hates the idea, the idea of Jackson potentially _loving_ him, as in more than just friends. But alas it does make sense, it would explain Jackson’s hostility towards Derek, his funny behavior now looks like jealousy and Danny feels dizzy. Danny discards the idea, thinking that this could simply be physical attraction, or at most a simple crush. How could they be in love at their age? They’re just teenagers, and teenagers don’t fall in love, or at least, not _really_ in love. Teenagers just have flings; that’s all.

He takes deep breaths to center himself, walking over to the sink to splash some cold water on his face as he tries to process everything that’s happened to him within the past couple days; his complicated and sex-fueled unwanted relationship with a werewolf accused of murder, his being kidnapped and injured, his best friend coming out to him, his best friend telling him he finds him attractive. It’s all too much, too fast and Danny just wants to be alone now. Jackson keeps pounding on the door and Danny can hear him on the other side of the door, can hear his best friend’s broken voice and desperate pleas. It breaks Danny’s heart and it makes him want to just bury his head in the sand and forget everything and that just makes everything even sadder than they already are.

“Dan…please, open the door,” Jackson pleads, the knocks having now stopped. Resigned, Danny walks over to the door, unlocks it and opens it abruptly, finding himself face to face with his best friend, who looks like a mess.

“I’m sorry,” Danny says instinctively, not really sure what he’s apologizing for. Is he sorry for freaking out on Jackson and hiding in the bathroom cowardly? Or is he sorry for not feeling the same way about Jackson? Well, he does find Jackson attractive, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t, but the truth is, Jackson has _always_ been out of the question when it came to his potential love interests. Not just because Jackson’s straight—well, _was supposedly_ straight, Danny now knows Jackson isn’t—but because he’s his best friend. So Danny never let himself even _think_ about the possibility of he and Jackson having anything more than what they’ve had all along and Danny has been content with that, never wanted _more._ Danny needs to clear his head, he needs to get out of his house, he needs to get away from everyone, “I’m sorry Jacks, I can’t deal with this right now,” Danny adds and brushes past him but Jackson stops him with a firm grasp on his forearm, prompting Danny to turn around and look at him.

Jackson looks hesitant for a moment while they stand awkwardly facing each other, his gaze flickering everywhere until they settle on Danny’s eyes. Jackson moves curtly, stepping forward and breaching into Danny’s personal space, taking him by surprise, hand on Danny’s neck, and thumb on his jaw, lips pressed against his.

It takes Danny a second to register what’s going on and when he does, all he can think of doing is kissing Jackson back and the second he does, he can feel Jackson melting down, relaxing and kissing him with more gusto. In the back of his head he can’t help thinking that this is a bad idea and yet it feels so nice, so _different_. It’s not as intoxicating, as intense, as overwhelming at it is with Derek, it’s almost like Danny can actually enjoy it, the feel of Jackson’s lips and tongue, the feel of Jackson’s hands on his skin. This is what it should feel like, this is _normal_ and Danny somewhat likes it. The pain Danny has come to associate with Derek, the pain that woke him up earlier, it’s back, only it’s ten times worse and it’s so breathtaking that Danny cannot just ignore it. He tries nonetheless though, tries to ignore Derek’s ridiculous jealousy and heartbreak, tries to get Derek out of his life—as crazy as that sounds. It shouldn’t even happen, Danny shouldn’t be able to feel what Derek’s feeling, Danny shouldn’t be this upset over kissing his best friend. Derek’s face appears in his mind all of a sudden and Danny has to pull away to catch his breath, his hand fisting over his chest and he squeezes his eyes hard over the pain. God damn it, why won’t Derek just leave him alone? Even when he’s not there, he somehow still is; Danny even feels guilty to a certain extent over kissing Jackson, like he’s cheating on Derek—which he’s not.

“Danny, what’s wrong? You can’t breathe?” Jackson’s hands are on his shoulders and Danny breathes deeply, clearing his mind, thinking positive thoughts or whatever to forget about Derek, to just focus on anything else but the pain and the need to hold Derek close and kiss him. Surprisingly, it works, he doesn’t feel like his heart is being constricted anymore and he breathes out a relieved sigh, leaning against Jackson to keep his balance.

“I’m okay,” Danny assures Jackson as he stands back on his own feet. “I’m okay now.”

“And what exactly happened just now?” Jackson demands, arms crossed over his chest, tilting back and forth on his heels.

“It’s nothing,” Danny replies, relieved that the hold Derek had on him is gone—or at least, weakened.

“Are you sure? You were hurting like this just a few minutes ago, is it your heart? You kept putting your hand on your chest; it has to be your heart right? We should take you to the hospital.”

“Jacks, seriously, I’m okay,” Danny insists, knowing very well that no doctor can help him—and isn’t that ironic? Danny is a scientist at heart, a firm believer in medicine; he discards any possibility of miracles and other things of the likes. And here he is, experiencing what feels like a heart attack but knowing that his heart is actually fine, that he’s healthy. Well, at least he thinks he is. After all, there’s no reason for him to have a heart attack at his age, he’s an athlete, he eats healthy and his parents would’ve known if he was born with any congenital conditions. He’s still curious though; would anything come up on any medical test? 

“I’d rather be safe than sorry, I’m calling your dad,” Jackson says, fetching his cell phone out of his pocket but Danny catches his wrist and pulls his best friend toward him, prompting Jackson to look back up at him. Their bodies flushed together, Danny’s arms snake around Jackson’s lean waist, head buried in the crook of Jackson’s neck and shoulder.

“Jacks, don’t do it. You know me, right? If it really was serious, I would know and I would be the first to call my dad, okay?” Danny tries to convince him, thinking the close contact would help;  he really doesn’t want to go to the hospital right now.

“All right, fine,” Jackson says, resigned and relaxing in Danny’s arms. “But still, I don’t think it would hurt to have him examine you, at least when he comes home.”

“Yeah, okay, sure.”

Danny’s not sure what to think about Jackson as he leans back, arms still wrapped around him, as he looks at Jackson’s face, his gorgeous face and his perfect skin. Danny’s always envied Jackson’s good looks a little, has always joked about how Jackson could easily be a super model, has even suggested his best friend try it out. But Jackson is more than just a pretty face; Danny knows that, his best friend has told him how school was important to him; how he was glad they were both on the same page on the matter, actually. And Danny is too, even though Jackson acts like a jerk at school, Danny knows better, knows that Jackson isn’t a dumb jock, that he’s better than that. They probably wouldn’t be best friends anyways, they’ve grown together, have influenced each other and Danny is really glad that his assiduity in his studies has grown on Jackson.

Coming back to the present situation, Danny thinks about what could happen between him and Jackson. His best friend did kiss him, _twice_ , and he initiated it both times. If anything, Danny can conclude that Jackson is interested in him, and maybe he could allow himself to consider this, _them_. Cupping Jackson’s face, Danny makes a decision and leans forward, capturing his best friend’s lips in another kiss and Jackson just complies, groaning as their tongues meet languorously. It does feel kind of exhilarating, Danny has to admit, it feels like he’s adventuring himself in forbidden lands, it feels like he’s even more privileged now than he already was, like he’s gotten access to yet another side of Jackson that no one else knows.

“I’m in love with you,” Jackson whispers when they break from the kiss, breath teasing Danny’s lips, foreheads pressed together.

_This is it_ , Danny thinks, feeling his skin go cold. _All hell’s breaking loose._

 

\------------------------------------

 

Stiles looks around him, looking for any sign of Scott but all he sees are miles and miles of trees and a psycho killer/alpha werewolf staring at him with a dangerous smile on his face.

“Don’t just sit there on the ground, it’s dirty,” Peter says, fingers lifting up Stiles’ chin, prompting him to stand up and Stiles is so paralyzed in fear that he just submits to the man, getting back up on his feet. He’s standing too close for comfort to Peter, can smell the man’s cologne and see his eyes clearly for the first time. They’re blue, just like Derek’s, and why is Stiles focusing on that?

“What do you want?” Stiles asks, the lump in his throat making it hard for him to speak. He wonders where Scott is, hopes his best friend has at least the decency to look for him.

“I have no intention of harming you, Stiles,” Peter doesn’t bother moving away from him, he’s still standing close to him, Stiles can feel warmth radiating from the him. “No, wait, pardon me, I sort of do, actually.”

“What…what do you mean?” Stiles stutters, anxiety taking over him as he frets an attack any moment now.

“Don’t worry,” Peter steps even closer, leaning close to Stiles ear and…he’s taking a deep breath through his nose—is he…could he be _smelling_ him? “I like you, Stiles.”

“I’m sorry I can’t say I feel the same about you,” Stiles replies wryly, his back standing straight and his body still standing still, as though his feet were planted in the earth beneath him. _Where_ the hell _is Scott?_

“You’re smart,” Peter ignores his last word, his head coming back into view as his eyes pierce through his. “Resourceful, brave.”

“Stop it, you’re going to make me blush,” Stiles retorts, causing the werewolf to chuckle, feeling a little bit more at ease as Peter takes one step back to take a good look at him. What is he doing? He shouldn’t be provoking Peter, but he can’t seem to stop himself, it’s just who he is.

“Do you know why wolves hunt in pack?” Peter asks out of the blue. “It’s because their favorite prey are too large to be brought down by one wolf alone.”

“So what?”

“So…the larger the pack, the better,” Peter answers him and Stiles starts to get where this is headed.

“So you’re not going to kill me?” Stiles asks, admonishing himself almost immediately for pushing his luck. Peter moves forward, eyes fixed on him and Stiles steps back instinctively, already regretting his last question.

“Don’t you understand yet? I’m not the bad guy here.”

“You turn into a giant monster with red eyes and fangs, and you’re not the bad guy?” Stiles retorts, a little bit surprised and relieved when Peter’s only reaction is a brief smirk.

“I like you, Stiles,” he repeats, stepping back up into his personal space, their faces mere inches apart and Stiles can’t seem to move. “So I’m going to offer you something. Do you want the bite?”

“What?”

“Do you want…the _bite_?” Peter repeats his question even if Stiles heard him just fine the first time. He’s just…astonished. “If it doesn’t kill you, and it could, you’ll become like us.”

“Like you?” A werewolf. Stiles can’t say he hasn’t thought about it, all this time he’s watched Scott from the sidelines, Stiles has thought one too many times how great it would feel to be this powerful.

“Yes, a werewolf,” Peter rolls his eyes at Stiles’ embarrassing inability to keep up intelligently with the conversation. “That first night in the woods, I took Scott because I needed a new pack. It could’ve easily been you, and honestly? I wish it _had_ been you.”

Stiles doesn’t know what to say and can’t believe he’s actually considering Peter’s offer. Peter grasps his wrist and brings it up to his mouth, eyes looking at him sideways.

“Yes or no?”

Stiles pulls his hand back at the last second, right before the alpha sinks his fangs into his flesh. “I don’t want to be like you.”

“You know what I heard just now? Your heart beating slightly faster at the words ‘I…don’t…want’. Even if I couldn’t hear your heart beating, I could still be able to tell you’re lying.”

“Still, I don’t want the bite, I don’t want to be part of your pack, I don’t want _anything_ to do with you,” Stiles says, determined to not give in. He’s tempted, there’s no denying here, but he likes being human and he’d rather not make a decision for something irreversible that he might regret later.

“It pains me to hear that,” Peter heaves a sigh, arms suddenly pulling Stiles’ body against his, pressing their hips together. “Because either way, I’m still claiming you, Stiles.”

“What…?” Stiles has barely got time to protest before he feels Peter’s teeth sinking into his neck, biting lightly and licking at the same time.

“God, you really do taste delicious,” Peter breathes out and Stiles is relieved when he realizes the werewolf hasn’t actually bitten him with his fangs. But then he realizes on the other hand that the bite was…a sexual act and that stirs up an unwanted reaction from Stiles.

“It seems like someone’s enjoying it,” Peter’s hand strokes Stiles’ crotch. “See, now I’m a hundred percent sure that like being bitten, Stiles.”

Stiles is powerless, his brain has decided to shut down at the most unfortunate of times and he’s just too shocked to do anything as Peter cups his face and kisses him. Stiles feels hands coming up his back, arms tightening around his body and it feels so _good_ that Stiles can’t help but wrap his own arms around the other man’s body. This is Stiles’ first kiss and he never imagined it would be like, with a werewolf, an _alpha_. Their lips part and Peter leaves a trail of kisses along his jaw until his lips reach Stiles’ neck again. He doesn’t know how he knows this but Stiles manages to pull away from Peter’s hold just in time before the fangs can come in contact with his skin.

“No, I don’t want this,” Stiles says, the force with which he broke away from the other man has him landing on his bum on the ground.

“You’re lying again,” Peter smiles, crouching down beside him and offering him his hand. “But it’s all right, I guess I’ll wait for you to come around.”

“I won’t,” Stiles gulps down the lump in his throat, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. God what is wrong with him? How can he be turned on by the man in front of him? He’s a killer, an actual monster.

“You will,” Peter smirks, sounding so sure of himself it scares Stiles a little. Peter takes his hand and pulls him back up on his feet. “Until then, we can have some fun, that’ll convince you.”

 


	8. Caught in crossfire

Derek wanders aimlessly a few yards away from Danny’s house, his feet shuffling on the pavement as he ponders where to go. He didn’t want to leave to begin with, and only did so because Danny asked him to, especially with that Jackson kid who’s been all up in Danny’s space. Jackson. Just thinking about him has Derek all rattled, it makes his skin crawl with rage. He knows Jackson wants Danny, _his_ Danny. Derek has never once felt so territorial in his life; it almost worries him how the jealousy brings out the bloodlust in him.

Derek doesn’t remain far from Danny, even his uncle advised him to stay near his mate. ‘ _Mates heal faster around one another_ ,’ his uncle had said right before Derek left. ‘ _Something to think about, right, Derek?_ ’ That’s why Danny healed so fast. That’s why _Derek_ healed so fast last night. It makes horrible sense and Derek can only accept it. He figures that since Danny’s wounds haven’t completely healed yet, he might as well stay around to speed up the healing process, all the while cursing his uncle for injuring Danny in the first place.

So Derek just wanders in the neighborhood, trying to take in his surroundings, to be more familiar with it. He doesn’t know why, but he feels it’s important that he does. So that he can find his way around better if he ever needs to get to Danny quickly. It’s all houses, spaciously arranged with neat lawns, custom mailboxes and white picket fences to delimit each area. So much space for so few people, it makes Derek uncomfortable. He left this little town life a long time ago, left for a big city with his sister as soon as the accident happened, so he’s not used to this lifestyle anymore.

Danny doesn’t leave his thoughts for long and Derek knows for sure now he’s in too deep. He won’t settle for anyone but Danny, he can feel it in his gut, every instinct in him tells him that Danny’s the one. His uncle could very well be right. But what else does being mates entail? Do they have to make it official? Derek has no idea and he was too dazed by all the information his uncle had provided him with to ask for more. He makes a mental note for next time. Peter is probably trying to convince Scott to help them right now. Even though Derek has lost all track of time, he figures it’s been at least two hours since he left his uncle alone, two hours during which he mostly watched Danny sleep peacefully.

He misses the boy already and can’t help but turn around and go back to Danny’s house, making sure he is not seen by anyone as he climbs up the fence to get to the backyard. He makes his way up to the rooftop with ease and soon finds himself crouching on the Bordeaux tiles covering the roof a dozen feet away from Danny’s bedroom window. As he peers through the open window into Danny’s room, what Derek sees feels like a punch to the gut and cuts his breath off for a few seconds. Danny is asleep, arms wrapped around Jackson’s slender body.

Derek brings up a hand over his chest, fingers fisting over the shirt that Danny gave him, the shirt that smells so strongly of Danny it makes Derek dizzy. It’s excruciating to see Danny like this—with someone else—so much that Derek can hardly breathe. He feels betrayed, heartbroken even and he wants to get angry at Danny but Derek can’t even muster up one ounce of resentment towards the teenager. He expects the pain from seeing his mate being intimate with someone other than him, after everything his uncle told him.

What he doesn’t expect though, is to see Danny sit up with a start in his bed, mirroring Derek with a hand over his fast-beating heart and. Right this instant, Derek can feel it, the bond between them, he can hear Danny’s heartbeat crystal clear, can hear Danny’s ragged breathing, can see the pain written all over Danny’s face. They’re connected, and any doubt Derek might have had left are gone for good now.

Danny suddenly appears within the window frame and their eyes meet, Danny’s kind brown eyes reflecting Derek’s pain and incomprehension. Why is Danny doing this to him? What is the exact nature of Danny’s relationship with Jackson? Derek doesn’t know, and the incertitude is killing him. Danny closes the window, hiding behind the curtains, and the avoidance is just rubbing salt on the wound.

Derek tries to calm down. Despite how crappy he feels right now, he hates the fact that Danny’s suffering just as much because of him. Derek somehow manages to weaken the link between them, he just focuses on anything else but how Danny’s feeling and it seems to work. At least he thinks so. But his own agony doesn’t end, and he wants to know what’s going on between the two teenagers. He moves silently, coming back down from the roof and landing stealthily on the grass. Derek listens in on the conversation between the two boys and is happy to hear that Danny’s completely healed as he makes his way back around the house to reach the front door, which he left unlocked when he left earlier. What he hears next squeezes his heart just a little bit more, Danny saying he doesn’t want anything to do with him feels like yet another knife wound to his already damaged heart. Derek tunes out pretty much immediately after hearing that, he doesn’t think he can sustain more rejection. He should just get the fuck out of here but he keeps holding on to Danny, even after all the pain he’s been inflicted so far. He can’t seem to help it, Derek just needs him.

When he reaches the top of the stairs, he can see Danny’s room, the door is open pretty wide and this time, what Derek finds is too much for him to handle. Danny and Jackson are kissing and Derek feels like his chest is being ripped open. He feels dizzy and falls down to his knees, his hand leaning on the railings near the stairs but the pain is overwhelming and everything just goes black from here.

————————————————————————

“Please don’t tell me you’re a vampire,” Danny says half-jokingly, trying to hide the fact he’s scared shitless at the prospect of having his best friend in love with him. It hit him like an alarm. What was he thinking? Why did he even kiss Jackson? Why did he let it go that far?

“What?” Jackson chuckles nervously; Danny can feel—can _hear—_ Jackson’s heart beating fast and loud. It’s puzzling, he’s never heard it so clearly before, and he knows it’s not his own heart beat; he knows what it feels and sounds like. 

“I mean, I don’t want my life to be turned into a twilight movie, it would be pathetic,” Danny explains, cringing at the idea of him being that girl whom is fought over by a creepy vampire and a clingy werewolf, a girl who _screams_ at night over her crush on said creepy vampire. He’s freaking out and at this point, any distraction is welcome. He regrets kissing Jackson. He really shouldn’t have.

“No, I’m human, rest assured,” Jackson says, pulling Danny into a hug and laughing wholeheartedly as he rests his head on Danny’s shoulder. Danny has no idea what he should do in this situation. There’s no guideline for this, no textbook he can read to handle this kind of situation. He can’t say the words back to Jackson—he just can’t—he doesn’t even know what he feels right now, less alone tell his best friend he loves him too. See, this is what he was fretting: the awkwardness of potential feelings between two best friends when only one is in love with the other. The truth is, he always protected himself from this, from falling for Jackson; but he never thought their roles could be reversed. If he’s honest with himself, he’s fought even harder because he knows that if he did fall for Jackson, he would fall way too far to ever crawl his way back. He’s had fantasies. Of course he has, he’s a guy and he has needs. He’s a teenager for God’s sakes and probably the only teen out in Beacon Hills, it’s not like his choices are unlimited. And his best friend just happens to be one of the best looking guys in high school, so of course he’s noticed Jackson’s looks. But no matter what, there’s always been that façade, that wall to mask the attractiveness, to make Jackson look…brotherly. And that wall is still up.

Eventually, Danny opts for his preferred course of action: say nothing. Jackson pulls away and they look at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before clearing their throats almost simultaneously.

“What time is it? Are you hungry?” Danny asks, looking around his room for the time even though he knows there’s no clock. He feels so out of place, so ill at ease all now with Jackson around. He sees his phone on the bed and walks over, past Jackson, to check the time. It’s already over half past six. What time was it when he came back? He doesn’t even know.

“No, I’m good,” Jackson replies and as he turns around, Danny sees Jackson looking down at his feet. He seems…embarrassed. Upset. And Danny can’t shake the feeling that he’s the cause of that. Jackson takes Danny’s face in his hands and crushes their lips together again, the movement starting out brusquely but the violence of it fading out as the kiss softens and they relax in each other’s arms. No, s _top it,_ Danny thinks. He’s really doing this all wrong. Jackson bucks up his hips against Danny’s, his arms sliding up Danny’s back underneath his white tee. Things are going so fast that Danny reacts late; he pulls away and holds Jackson at arms’ length, looking straight at his best friend’s confused face. He’s not ready to do this, he definitely is _not._ Kissing Jackson is weird enough. Having sex with him would…it would just make everything worse; Jackson’s already screwed everything up as it is. There would be no going back from that.

“What are we doing, Jacks?” Danny asks, even though he knows damn well what they were doing and what they were _about_ to do.

“I…I don’t know,” Jackson mumbles, looking unsure now, almost upset. This is definitely not what Danny intended. But he doesn’t want…okay, it sounds cheesy, but Danny doesn’t want his first time to be a quick fuck, to be the result of an impulse, a _need_. And God knows Danny needs it. Derek has been building his sexual frustration up like a pro in just two days, has teased Danny several times now without Danny getting any actual release. Danny almost wishes he had slept with Derek. He wouldn’t be that horny and he certainly wouldn’t have made out with his best friend that many times. He wouldn’t be stuck in this situation wishing he could just fuck Jackson. _Fuck!_ Danny’s a mess and he’s not thinking clearly.

He wants his first time to be special. Or at least, he told himself he wouldn’t have sex with strangers. He wants dates. He wants to know there’s going to be more. Jackson isn’t anyone though. Not a stranger, yes, but he isn’t _anyone_ either. Jackson is his best friend, one of the few people on this planet who know Danny better than anyone. The stakes are high here and Danny doesn’t want to screw up. Dates. They should go on dates. Jackson just came out to him; they can’t jump into bed right after that, right? Danny needs time to assess whether a relationship with Jackson could work. He’s not even sure he wants to date Jackson. He’s not even sure Jackson’s ready to come out to everyone, let alone date a guy openly. This is a bad idea, Danny realizes as he thinks about it. Damn it, why did he kiss Jackson? He wasn’t thinking clearly, obviously, he just…it’s stupid, but he just wishes Derek was here. _No._ No Derek. Danny shakes his head, trying to clear his mind and compose himself.

“Danny!”

Hearing his Dad screaming his name snaps Danny out of his thoughts, and with only an agreeing look, Danny and Jackson move out of his room to go greet his father downstairs. Danny isn’t prepared for the sight in front of him right out of his room. His father is crouching over Derek’s unconscious body in the hallway, just near the top of the stairs. Danny’s mind goes blank as he stares at the man lying on the floor, his heart jumping in his chest.

“Care to tell me what this man is doing here, son?” his father asks as Danny approaches them, Jackson on his tail. Shit. The last thing Danny needs right now is for his parents to know about Derek.

“I…I have no idea,” Danny lies and curses silently for being such a bad liar. His father, though a few inches shorter than him, has always intimidated Danny. He’s a well respected doctor at the hospital and is known for being patient but quite scary too. Danny knows that very well. His father has somehow always played the good cop, his mother being the bad cop who always nags to get things done—though she hasn’t done much nagging for the past few years since Danny and his sister have grown up. However, being the nice parent of the two, the rare times Danny’s father does get angry, it scares the shit out of him. He has a way of terrifying Danny with his calm voice and scrutinizing looks.

“Really? Because he keeps muttering your name, and his face just happens to look a hell of a lot like that murder suspect the police has been looking for lately,” his father pins him on the spot with one of his legendary stares—he has a way to look at Danny with something halfway between a glare and a kind look at the same time. Danny never knows how to feel in those situations but he usually just feels like shit.

“It’s hard to explain,” Danny offers lamely but honestly, it _is_ hard to explain.

Derek chooses that exact moment to open his eyes and they look lost, flickering right and left until they settle on Danny’s own eyes. Derek reaches up with one hand and Danny takes it instinctively, feeling the need for comfort coming from the other man. The simple touch ignites something in Danny, a craving for more. Derek looks so…vulnerable, so hurt that Danny forgets all his resolutions on the spot and gives in to Derek’s pleading gaze. Danny can tell Derek’s upset because of him, he’s certain it has something to do with what happened between him and Jackson. He kneels beside the other man, ignoring his father and Jackson, bringing Derek’s hand to his lips, whispering apologies for hurting Derek.

“Dan, you shouldn’t,” Jackson says weakly behind him, a hand on his shoulder. In spite of all his reasoning, all the arguments he made in his mind to stay away from Derek; Danny finds it hard to put in practice. Jackson’s right, Danny shouldn’t touch Derek. Derek is a _werewolf_ for Pete’s sake, and Danny remembers now that what he feels for Derek is probably fake, the result of something supernatural.

“I’m calling the police,” Danny’s father says and stands up, prompting Danny to stand up as well, his hand gripping his father’s wrist to stop him.

“No, don’t,” Danny says, earning himself a disapproving glare from this dad.

“Have you lost your mind? That man is a criminal!”

“Trust me, Dad, he’s not!” Danny counters more passionately than he intended, the fear of having Derek arrested seizing him. Fake or not, he cares about Derek, he cares and he knows Derek cares for him too. It’s strange, but he feels like they belong. And Danny can’t risk putting Derek in danger.

“Danny, I can fight my own battles,” Derek says, now standing beside him, his arm just an inch away from making contact with Danny’s and Danny feels anxious at the proximity. Derek purposefully avoids meeting Danny’s gaze, instead focusing on his dad. “I didn’t mean to impose or cause you any trouble sir; I will be leaving, feel free to call the police if you want.”

 “Get the hell out of my house; I don’t want to see you here again.”

“Understood,” with one last glance at Danny, Derek runs down the stairs and Danny’s feet move on their own to follow the older man. He feels helpless, he feels like he can’t breathe if Derek isn’t around, like Derek is his only reason to live. It’s not normal, Danny gets that, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t understand why this is happening to him, why all of a sudden Derek’s become so crucial to his survival when a few minutes ago he seemed fine without the older man. But Danny doesn’t care; all he can think at the moment is that he doesn’t want to leave Derek’s side.

His father stops him before he can even put his foot on the first step down the stairs, his grip firm on Danny’s forearm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” his father demands with his calm voice, sending shivers down Danny’s back. Danny’s paralyzed on the spot, his father’s bright eyes are scaring him a little bit.

“I can’t leave him,” is all Danny can think to say and he almost regrets letting the words out when he catches a glimpse of the disappointed look on Jackson’s face. Danny hates being put in that position, he’s just hurting everyone around him. He wants his old life back, when he was just Danny, the gay guy that everyone likes because he’s harmless and nice. Still, he doesn’t think he could go back to being his old self either; the one nobody pays attention to beyond the nice gay guy etiquette. With Derek, he feels…wanted, he feels needed. He feels like he finally belongs with someone.

“Danny, listen to your father,” Derek tells him from the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him. “I…I’m really sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”

That’s just it for Danny; he loses it as he watches Derek turn around and leaving.

 “I’m sorry, Dad,” Danny jerks his hand free from his father’s grip and reaches the bottom of the stairs in no time, catching up with Derek just when he gets to the front door. He feels like all his senses are on alert; he’s never felt so alive before.

“Daniel, you better come back here, _right now_ ,” Danny hears his father threaten but ignores it, grabbing Derek’s hand as they cross the threshold out onto the porch. The sky is crimson, and the neighborhood is devoid of people, announcing the end of the day.

“Danny, don’t do this, I don’t want you to be in any more trouble because of me,” Derek says once they’re outside, his hands cupping Danny’s face and his eyes boring into his. Derek’s face is so hypnotizing Danny could stare at the man before him forever; and his touch is plain magnetizing. He can feel Derek’s heart beating fast, can hear it just as well as if it was his own, and it’s an amazing feeling.

“I’m sorry I kissed Jackson,” Danny apologizes, and flinches at the flash of distress that goes through Derek’s eyes, his heart speeding up as their hips connect. He wants to kiss Derek so bad, wants to beg for forgiveness. It’s a serious 180 Danny’s pulling here, he realizes that, but it’s beyond his own will at this point. Derek makes him feel alive,

“Dan?” Jackson’s right by their side, standing in the frame of the open front door, his voice breaking. Shit. Jackson just heard what he said. Danny’s father suddenly appears, gun cocked in his hand, pointing it at Derek.

“Hands off my son,” Danny’s father orders, the tone of his voice leaving no place for discussion.

“I swear to God, Dad, if you hurt him, I’ll kill you myself,” the words escape Danny’s mouth before he can think it through, having moved his body quickly between Derek and his father’s handgun. Danny’s always hated that stupid gun, has always thought it stupid for a doctor to own something that can kill people. Danny can hardly believe this is happening. What has he been reduced to? Here he is, defying his own father and his best friend for…for Derek. His…Derek. He doesn’t even know what Derek is, Danny is powerless to what he’s feeling for the werewolf, and he wishes he could explain it but he can’t.

“God damn it, Danny, I’m not playing around!”

“Dan, this is insane, why are you doing this?”

Why is he doing this? Danny’s not sure. It feels like his brain is switched off and he’s been acting on autopilot the whole time. But at the same time he does know what he’s doing. He’s protecting Derek. And he doesn’t know if this is the work of the adrenaline pumping through his arteries or something else, but Danny feels great right now in his body. He moves with ease and he moves fast, he can see Jackson swallowing in slow motion, a drop of sweat sliding slowly down his best friend’s temple. He can hear his father ragged breathing, can hear Derek’s steady heartbeat behind him. All of his senses are heightened, and it’s both daunting and amazing.

“Danny, this is getting ridiculous,” Derek whispers close to his ear, his arms wrapping around Danny’s waist. “Let me go, we’ll see each other soon, I promise.”

Danny turns around in Derek’s arms, looking at the older man’s shining blue eyes. He kisses Derek right on the spot, glad that he’s as tall as Derek, covering the werewolf from his Dad’s menacing gun.

“You’re lying,” Danny mutters as their lips part, foreheads touching and breaths mingling together. “I’m not leaving you.”

His last words have barely escaped his lips that another deafening sound reaches his ears, making Danny’s heart stop.


	9. Can't lose you

"Now what?" Stiles’ voice trembles, his heart going erratic with Peter standing too close for comfort. He can smell the alpha's enticing scent, a bit surprised by the fact that the werewolf's wearing cologne. It seems like such a human thing to do. He had this whole idea of what the alpha would be like. A red-eyed monster out for blood, a heartless and uncontrollable animal. He certainly didn't expect...this. Peter Hale. An intriguing...character. This man seems so much more than a werewolf, he seems wise, clever.

"Whatever you want, Stiles," Peter leans in, pulling his body close, their lips brushing tenderly, the light touch making Stiles' legs turn to jelly. Peter's hands come up to his hips and hold him firmly on the ground, keeping him from actually succumbing to his weakened legs. Stiles enjoys this more than he should. Peter is painfully attractive, and Stiles is alas not immune to the man's charm. It feels good to be wanted for once, to have something that's just his and no one else's. Too often Stiles has had to stand idly by the sidelines, watching everyone have their moment of glory, their share of romance, of love. It's quite twisted, Stiles realizes, but he somewhat likes the attention Peter is paying him. Stiles never gets noticed as anything other than the goofy nerd. Especially since Scott was turned, Stiles has had to watch his best friend steal all the thunder at lacrosse, get Allison, the fast-rising-to-popularity girl in school.

"What do you want, really?" Stiles asks, his breath ghosting across the werewolf's lips.

"I want you," Peter answers him truthfully, or at least as truthfully as Stiles can imagine the man can sound. "You fascinate me, Stiles."

"Why?" Stiles can't help but think Peter has an ulterior motive for his behavior. Why would he take such an interest in him when no one ever has before? Stiles has a hard time believing Peter is just interested in his personality—granted, Stiles _is_ a great catch, but still, it’s too weird, the timing too convenient for this to be true.

"You're smart enough to recognize a bad situation when you see one and yet you still put your neck out for those you care about," Peter explains, moving his head next to Stiles', burying his nose in Stiles' neck, a hand coming up to caress Stiles' short hair. Stiles can hear Peter take a deep breath, a little puzzled by this weird obsession of Peter's with his scent. Stiles doesn't smell anything in particular, he just puts on deodorant, like most teenagers. "You're smart and you're loyal, that makes you an incredible candidate for my pack."

"So that's it, I'm just someone whose resume looks great in your weird recruiting operation?" Stiles can't help showing his disappointment in his tone.

"Well, if you must know," Peter leans back, his azure eyes meeting Stiles' again. "I have a little conflict of my own to resolve, and I could use your help. And Scott’s.”

_A little conflict_. Stiles suddenly remembers his conversation last night with his dad. The murder victims. All connected to the Hale house fire. Peter isn’t killing random people, he’s conducting his own little vendetta.  “Do you mean revenge?”

“Yes,” Peter lights up at his question, regarding him with delighted eyes. “You are smart, Stiles. Like I told you, I want you in my pack. But I could do without it."

Peter inches their faces closer again, his arms securely settled around Stiles' body. "What I can't do without though, is having you. As I told you, I like you, Stiles."

Stiles likes Peter’s silky voice, it’s mesmerizing, it sends shivers all the way down his back through his spine. He can hardly believe this is happening to him but apparently it is. All this teasing is making Stiles go insane, he just wants Peter to kiss him already and he can't bring himself to close the distance between their lips. In retrospect, he should not be doing this; he should not even be considering this, _them_. Peter is so much older than him, this is just all kinds of _wrong._ Stiles has never been attracted to men, not like this. Everything around him is a blur; it's just him and Peter, secluded in their own world. It feels strange, dangerous, thrilling. Stiles finds himself liking the prospect of having his own secret, something that’s just for him to know.

"This could be our little secret," Peter says, as if he was just reading Stiles' thoughts, the words making Stiles’ heart flutter. "This could just be ours."

"Stiles!"

Scott finally makes an appearance, at quite the most inopportune of times, Stiles thinks. Scott's chest is heaving fast, his eyes glowing a golden shade as they set on Peter.

"Leave him alone," Scott growls out, his face slowly shifting into his werewolf form. "Stay away from him."

"Calm down now, Scott," Peter turns to him, leaving one arm wrapped around Stiles' waist. "We were just having a nice little chat."

"I'm okay, Scott, really," Stiles offers, nodding at his best friend, not quite sure what to do with his own body. Peter is warm at his side and Stiles wants desperately to lean into that warmth. _Pull yourself together, Stiles, that man is a werewolf, a_ killer. He detaches himself from the man, a little astonished when Peter just lets him go without resisting. As he glances up at him, Stiles sees a soft smile on the man's face. Stiles walks slowly to Scott's side, feeling his best friend relax as he does so. Stiles is lost. He doesn't know what to think of Peter anymore. Just last night he was wildly attacking his own nephew at the hospital where he had been staying for years; today he's acting all docile and seductive with Stiles. It seems surreal, too suspicious.

"Are you okay?" Scott whispers to him and Stiles just nods silently.

"Well, while you are here, Scott, I have something to discuss with you," Peter announces, his eyes not once leaving Stiles', rendering him completely immobile from where he's standing. Stiles finds it hard to breathe, all this attention focused on him is just too intense.

“I need your help,” Peter elaborates, breaking eye contact with Stiles briefly.

“I don’t want to help you kill people,” Scott retorts, taking a defensive stance, putting his arm in front of Stiles—which Stiles  finds a little offensive, he’s not some fragile flower, thank you very much. Although he probably could use the protection from a killing machine such as Peter.

“Well, I don’t want to kill all of them,” Peter replies. “Just the responsible ones, and that doesn’t have to include…”

Peter looks back at Stiles, prompting him to complete his sentence. It takes him a second to connect the dots together though.

“Allison,” Stiles breathes out; eyes wide open as the realization strikes him. Peter is after the Argents. Of course. What better way to get to them than to attack the latest generation?

“You’re on his side?” Scott demands as he grabs Stiles’ arm, his tone reproaching.

“No! I’m not,” Stiles shoots back, returning his best friend’s glare. Actually, Stiles is not entirely against Peter. If he could get revenge on whoever caused his mother’s death, he certainly would. And Peter lost almost all of his family due to that fire. Stiles doesn’t know nearly enough to confirm the Argents’ responsibility in the case, but who could’ve caused it, if not them? Allison’s aunt seems like a good candidate anyway, from what he’s heard about her from Scott. “It’s just…Scott, he just wants to get revenge, he’s not killing people randomly, okay?”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Scott looks at him like he’s insane, a look that Stiles has alas seen too many times before. “What have you done to him, huh?” Scott turns his attention back to Peter, pointing at Stiles.

“Nothing…yet,” Peter walks towards them slowly, circling around them, hands behind his back as he speaks up again. “See, I’ve come up with an idea. Like how it might be easier to convince you to be part of the pack…if your best friend is too.”

“What?” Scott looks back and forth between Stiles and Peter, eyes wide. “Stiles? Did he…? Are you…?”

“No! He didn’t,” Stiles assures him, a little taken aback by Peter’s words. So Peter really does want to use him to his own end. God, Stiles should’ve known better than to even begin to _think_ Peter could be decent.

“I wouldn’t do that to him without his consent,” Peter stops right in front of Stiles, looking him straight in the eye. “Give me more credit, Stiles. You know I meant what I told you earlier.”

It’s really scary how Peter seems to be able to tell what Stiles is thinking.

“What did he say to you? Stiles!” Scott is getting impatient and Stiles doesn’t have the words to explain what is going on between him and Peter. It’s beyond his own comprehension; he can’t even say what this thing is. It could very well be nothing at all, really; just Stiles imagining things, just Peter taking advantage of Stiles’ attraction to him.

“What I said to Stiles is private, it remains between us,” Peter says as he glances at Scott, pinning the latter on the spot with his intense gaze. Stiles is grateful for that, his best friend’s agitation was seriously beginning to irritate him. Stiles is excited enough as it is, what with Peter leading him on from the get go.

“I need to know what you’re up to, what you did to Stiles,” Scott threatens with a low growl, his eyes glowing once again as he stares at the alpha.

“And I need you to understand how much more powerful we are together,” Peter counters, steering the subject off of what occurred between him and Stiles. “You, and me, and Derek.”

“I don’t care!” Scott shouts.

“See Stiles? You understand why I wish it was you,” Peter tells him and heaves a sigh, taking Stiles’ hand in his, pulling him forward. Stiles is too dazed gone to react properly, too caught up in Peter to do much. He lets Peter wrap an arm around his waist again, and the look on Scott’s face almost makes him regret how much he enjoys the feel of Peter surrounding him. The truth is, Stiles feels protected, he feels safe in a way that he never did with anyone other than his Dad, and he’d rather not think about that for fear of making a correlation between his Dad and Peter. But it’s too late, he just did that.

“Let him go,” Scott marches up to them, claws sharp and ready to attack but Peter hits him with the back of his hand, sending Scott flying off against a tree. Stiles gasps and tries to move to get to Scott but Peter won’t let him this time, his grip on Stiles’ shoulder is firm.

“Don’t be selfish, Scott,” Peter says. “Stiles has been a loyal friend to you, he’s helped you from the very beginning. You owe this to him. He doesn’t want to be a werewolf and I don’t want to force him.”

“You never had this problem with me,” Scott gets back on his feet, walking up to them.

“Well, I didn’t care about you then,” Peter replies, causing Stiles’ heart to skip a beat. “And I still don’t care that much about you now.”

“And you expect me to help you kill innocent people?” Scott snorts, and moves closer, the situation making Stiles more nervous as the seconds go by.

“What will it take for you to understand? They’re not innocent!” Peter raises his voice, startling Stiles. “Maybe…you could try and see things….from my perspective.”

Peter moves fast, Stiles barely gets to see the alpha’s claws growing before the latter moves right in front of Scott in a flash. Stiles yells Scott’s name as Peter plunges his claws in Scott’s neck, leaving the latter shaking on the ground. Stiles rushes to his best friend’s side, who seems to be having some sort of seizure.

“Wh-what did you do to him?” Stiles stutters, scowling at the alpha. He’s crouching beside Scott, pondering whether touching his best friend right now would be a good idea. This looks bad— _really_ bad—and Stiles hates himself for letting Peter go that far. He should’ve stopped the alpha from this, he could have, after all.

“Just gave him something to see, to open up his eyes,” Peter answers, hovering above him. “Take him home, I’ll keep in touch with you.”

With those last words, Peter lifts Stiles’ chin up again, urging him to stand up, blue eyes boring into his for a moment before he kisses him fully. Stiles pushes the man off of him, breaking the contact of their lips, surprising himself for this newfound willpower. He’s not happy about Peter hurting Scott, to say the least. Scott might be dense at times, _dumb_ even, but he’s still his best friend, and as Peter put it so well earlier, Stiles is loyal.

“I don’t want to see you again, unless I have your head on a stick,” Stiles spits at the werewolf as he slips one of Scott’s arm across his shoulders and lifts him up.

“Stiles, Stiles, Stiles,” Peter chuckles behind him. “Keep telling yourself that but you know the truth. You know you love me.”

—————————

Everything around Danny seems to slow down and all exterior sounds are muffled, the only thing he can hear is Derek screaming in pain and a loud heartbeat pounding in his ears. His breath is caught in his throat; he can't get any air in or out for what seems like an eternity.

In actuality, however, everything goes fast. He hears another gunshot, then another one again, and Derek falls in his arms, the weight bringing them down to the ground. Danny feels hands pulling at him but he can't move, he can't let go of the man in his hold. He wants to cry, he screams his lungs out in despair, tightening his grip on Derek. He's scared to death, his heart is contracting erratically, and he feels blood on his hands where they're holding Derek's back. Derek can't die; he can't be dying, not now, not _ever_.

"Derek," he manages to get out, his throat dry and closed as he feels sobs coming up, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Derek, stay with me."

His father is shouting at him, so is Jackson, but he can't make out any of the words they're saying. Danny spins his head around, looking at his father who has his hands held up in the air with an equally shocked expression marring his face. Jackson looks at him with wide eyes and shakes his head, telling him that his father didn't shoot. Danny never questioned it, his Dad couldn't have shot Derek from where he's standing; Danny had his back turned on him, hiding Derek from him. Danny inspects his bloody hands and takes a look at Derek's back, locating a bullet wound somewhere near the medial border of Derek's left scapula, and two others in each of his thighs. Danny looks up ahead of him, resting Derek's head on his shoulder with his hand in Derek's soft hair, looking for the shooter. His vision is off, and he shakes his head but it won't go away, everything is blurred yet clear at the same time, it's focused in one central point ahead of him and he can't see any colors at all. As he looks left and right, he manages to see details he normally couldn't, especially in the twilight. He can see the look of incomprehension and horror on Mrs Dunnigan's face through the window of her house facing theirs, he can see the same look on other people's faces appearing at their windows, probably attracted by the sound of the gunshots. But apart from that, he can't see much, can't see any guns, can't see anyone in broad daylight shooting at them. Whoever did this is hiding, and is no amateur. The shooter aimed straight at Derek's heart, and then shot at both Derek's knee joints to keep him from standing.

"Danny…" Derek mumbles weakly and Danny cups the werewolf's face with his hands, cringing at the blood smudges he's leaving on that beautiful face. Derek's sweating a lot and his breathing is ragged and short, eyes barely open. "Dan…r-run…"

"Dad, help me, _please,_ " Danny begs his father although he has no idea what his father could possibly do. He just doesn't know what to do himself; he can't think and it's always easier to have someone else decide and be in charge in this kind of situation. His father is speaking to him but Danny still can't hear anything other than the same heartbeat, and he suddenly realizes it's not his heart he's been hearing all this time. It's Derek's. He focuses on the sound, hoping the beats never stop. He barely pays attention to anything else as he carries Derek's body effortlessly, walking backwards to get back into the house.

A sharp pain pierces through his right shoulder and then the left one, causing him to scream in agony. Unable to move his arms, Danny loses his grasp on Derek who falls on top of him, the two of them lying on the floor. Danny squeezes his eyes shut, wishing he would just pass out and not endure this throbbing pain through his barely recovered shoulders. He hears loud thuds beside him and turns his head left and right but sees nothing. Craning his neck up, Danny catches a glimpse of his father inside the house, lying unconscious next to Jackson's equally unconscious form. They have just been tranquilized, Danny tells him, not wanting to think that they got shot too and that their lives are endangered as well. God, he hopes that's true.

"Dad? Dad can you hear me?" Danny manages to say despite his sore throat. "Jacks, come on, man, say something."

Nothing. _Fuck_. What the hell is going on? Who is doing this, and most importantly, _why?_

Danny's breathing shortens as he tries to move past the pain but in vain, his heart rate going through the roof, as he fears what's coming up next. Why aren’t people doing anything to help them? Where are the police? Danny saw his neighbors, they’re not _deaf,_ and they’re not blind either, so what the _hell_ are they waiting for? Danny cries for help but his voice is stranded after all the screaming he’s already done. This can’t be the end. He can’t die like this. All of a sudden Danny relives through a vivid memory of Derek's uncle stabbing him, and the fear of dying that's still fresh in his mind is ignited again. He's having a panic attack, his breathing speeding up, and he’s unable to move, feeling like a stranger in his own body, having lost all control. He keeps saying Derek's name like a madman, eyes shut, praying for the other man's survival. It almost makes him want to laugh at the irony of the situation. He's a feral atheist and has never once believed in any deity; yet here he is, praying to some God to save them.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Danny's eyes shoot open, and hovering above him he sees a woman, smirking like the devil himself. She's carrying a rifle over her shoulder, her stance casual as she studies him. He never expected this, never expected this rather beautiful woman to be the cause of all their problems.

"Where have they been hiding you all this time, kiddo?" She's talking to him. And he has no idea what she's talking about but he can only assume this means nothing good. He tries to move his leg, but Derek's still lying unconscious on top of him, and if not for the steady heartbeat that Danny can hear coming from Derek, one could think the werewolf was dead.

"What do you want? Why are you doing this?" Danny chokes out, tears rolling down his cheeks. He can't help but feel like his death is approaching. It's a terrible sensation, the fear of imminent death. And Danny has experienced it twice within the same day. Only this time, he's fearing for Derek's life too, for his father's and for Jackson's.

"You'll figure it out soon enough, but for the time being? You're coming with me."

Danny barely has time to process the woman's last words before everything blacks out.


	10. Can't feel you

“Wake up, sweetie.”

It feels like an umpteenth number of needles pierce through his skin, dragging him out of his unconscious state to a world of endless agony. Opening his eyes reveals to be a gigantesque effort and even when he does, it takes him a couple minutes to focus past his numb mind and the glaring lamp directed at him to take a good look at his surroundings. His sore muscles and the pressure on his skin tell him he’s tied up, the cold against his back tells him he’s tied up to a fence, and he can see wires attached to his bare skin. Rage swirls inside him as he gazes upon the person standing in front of him, the cocky smirk he’s come to hate unnerving him that much more.

“What are you going to do to him, is that going to kill him?” a familiar voice catches Derek’s attention, and he recognizes Scott’s girlfriend when he looks up.

 “Oh come on, kiddo, don’t get all ethical on me now,” Kate Argent says to her niece, who is standing right next to her, looking all innocent. Derek hates this, being showcased like a freak for Kate to entertain Allison. He pulls at the restraints but with no results, the chains burning his wrists. “Looks like someone’s grumpy,” Kate Argent adds, pursing her lips into a pout.

It hits him all of a sudden. Danny. Danny was with him. He felt Danny’s pain and he’s almost positive that Argent bitch shot Danny too, even when his mind was clouded by the throbbing he was suffering through. Derek looks around frantically, looking for any signs of the boy and his heart speeds up when he finds that Danny’s nowhere to be seen. Looking past Argent’s shoulder, he can see a steel gate in front of him, effectively keeping Derek from hearing Danny’s heartbeat or even detect his scent.

“Looking for someone?” She cocks an eyebrow at him, that smile still present on her face. She can probably see the fear marring his features; it’s not like he’s hiding it very well, he has no control over his growing fear for Danny’s safety.

“No,” Derek growls at her and it’s not hard for him to sound angry. Because he is. He can’t even stand the sight of that woman who keeps ruining his life. She betrayed him— _no_ , betrayal isn’t even strong enough to describe the level of horror her acts embody—and destroyed his life, his family. And now she’s back to do some more damage, going so far as to hurt a minor. Come to think of it, she did murder children that were much, _much_ younger than Danny in the past.

“Are you sure?” She turns on a switch and he can slowly feel shocks of electricity ripple through his skin, burning every single nerve on its way and inflicting him even more pain than he is already in. When the shocks finally stop, Derek’s left panting and his muscles are still pulsing wildly under his skin. “What about that cute werewolf friend of yours?”

Derek chooses to ignore her, his heart jumping at the mention of Danny. He hopes she hasn’t got Danny too, the poor kid’s suffered enough as it is because of Derek. He’s got too much guilt in him already, he doesn’t need to add Danny to his list of victims.

“What is he?” Derek can hear Allison ask, her voice loud in his head. The electrical current has messed up his senses; everything is too loud, too cold, and too bright; he has to close his eyes to avoid even the faintest light in the dim room.

“Shape-shifter, lycan. _Werewolf_ ,” Kate chuckles. “To me he’s just another dumb animal.”

Another shock hits him again and he can feel himself shift back and forth between his human wolf forms, unable to sustain the burn going through him. He feels dizzy and completely drained out of every ounce of energy he had left in him. He’s completely powerless and can’t even muster up enough force to resist Kate when she grabs his face.

“Come here,” Kate’s voice resonates in his head as he lets her open his mouth. “See these, right here? These are canines, also known as fangs. Made for the tearing and rending of flesh. Not something you’d find on those cute little leaf-eating herbivores, is it?”

“This is a joke to you?” Allison sounds baffled, and Derek almost wants to snorts at her naïve question. Kate Argent is a monster in her own way, and Derek is positive she takes pleasure in doing this. Hunting werewolves.

“Sweetheart, there are werewolves running around in the world,” Kate lets go of his mouth, _finally_ , and Derek wishes he could rinse his mouth profusely with some much needed whiskey. “Everything’s a joke to me, how else do you think I stay sane?”

Except Kate Argent is _anything_ but sane, Derek wants to say.

“So…it was him at the high school and all the animal attacks?”

“There’s actually three of them…wait, four, if you count that other kid we’ve got, right, Derek?” She turns to look at him with a cocky grin, causing him to pull at the chains like a mad man. He’s furious now that he knows for sure she’s got Danny too, probably locked up in another room. He watches her turn her back on him, leading her niece towards the door. “There’s another younger one like him, called a beta, and then there’s the alpha. Alpha’s the pack leader…bigger, stronger, nastier. Those…are the real ugly monsters.”

_________________

“I’m not here to play, Derek,” Kate warns him when she returns, her gaze cold and serious—the likes of which all killers possess. In an instant they’re filled with mirth again and it really puzzles him how she can switch back and forth between those two personas. She’s a real sociopath, is what she is. He assumes she got Allison home first before coming back, if the leather coat she’s wearing now is any indication. “Well, at least, not for now.”

“Spare me and kill me now,” Derek grunts as she approaches. He’s been awake for what feels like hours now and he feels like crawling out of his own skin. He’s shirtless and standing against cold metal behind his back. It’s the most uncomfortable position ever, this condition is torture in itself.

“I’d love to, but I need something from you first,” she walks closer and Derek cringes as her scent invades his senses. It’s been years and she hasn’t changed at all, from her perfume to the craziness in her eyes. Derek never stops wondering how he could actually fall for her act. He blames it on his younger and more naïve self but really, there is no excuses in the world that could justify what he did—albeit, not willingly, but still, it’s led to what happened six years ago. “I need you to tell me where the alpha is—”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, Derek, he killed your sister,” Kate says while rummaging through his things unashamedly. “Now, either you’re not telling me because…well, you want to kill him yourself, or for some reason…you’re protecting him.”

Derek doesn’t bother participating in the conversation, he’s just so exhausted. His body has been healing practically nonstop for the past 24 hours and he can’t remember the last time he ate anything. His body is bereft of any energy, add to that all the physical and emotional stress he’s been going through, and he’s just barely a living corpse. He hears Kate giggle and the sound irritates him, the sound getting closer until he feels her hand grab his chin.

“Look at that sour face,” she says, sounding amused while holding his driver’s license next to his face. “I bet you always used to get people coming up to you saying, ‘Smile Derek, why don’t you smile more?’ Don’t you just want to…kick those people in the face?”

“I can think of one,” oh how Derek wishes he could bash her face in the wall. Or on that table where she keeps that damn power generator.

“Promise? ‘Cause if I thought you’d be that much fun…I’d let you go.”

She heaves a long tired sigh and picks up his phone. “All right, let’s see. Nothing, nothing, nothing. God I hate this detective crap.”

“Are you going to torture me, or just going to talk me to death, huh?” Derek mutters, having now reached his limit. He just can’t stand the sound of her voice anymore; he wants to rip her vocal cords out.

“Oh sweetie, I don’t…I don’t want to torture you,” she says, pacing the room. “I just want to catch up. Remember all the fun we had together?”

“Like the time you burned my family alive?”

“No, I was thinking more about the hot, crazy sex we had,” she comes up to him, causing him to arch his back against the cold metal behind him. There’s no word to describe how he feels about the hunter in front of him. Hate has stopped being strong enough a long time ago. “But the fire thing, yeah, that was fun too.”

Her last words set him off and his body just lunges forward on its own but the chains keep him just a few inches from her God damn smiling face, causing her to chuckle.

“I love how much you hate me. Remember how this felt?” she crouches down and licks up his abs and it feels like acid on his skin. He growls at her with all the might he can muster up, even more unnerved all he gets is a chuckle from her. Thankfully she walks back to the table and sits down on a rotten-looking chair, tapping her fingers annoyingly on the wood.

“Unfortunately, Derek, if you’re not going to talk…I’m just going to have to kill you,” she tells him, already putting her fingers on the power switch. “So…say hi to your sister for me.”

Derek could care less about her death threats. Truth be told, now that his sister’s gone, he doesn’t really have a reason to live on. Except Danny. But he’s just being unrealistic about that. He’s not going to get his happy ending, not ever. So he might as well leave this crappy world and end this torture.

“You did tell her about me, didn’t you?” Kate interrupts his thoughts. “The truth about the fire?”

His hearts speeds up as she reminds him once again of what he did. God, just kill him, _now._

“Or did you?” Kate lets out a fake gasp and comes up to face him once again but he just can’t look at her right now as guilt and shame seize him up. “Did you tell anybody? Oh, sweetie, that’s just a lot of guilt to keep buried. And it’s not all your fault.

“It happens! Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super-hot girl who comes from a family that kills werewolves. Is that ironic? Is it…ironic…that you’re inadvertently helping me track down the rest of the pack…again?”

She lets out a chuckle as Derek lets the words sink in, lets them get to him right where he’s the most vulnerable. It’s hard enough having to live himself, he doesn’t need her to tell the great tragedy that is his life—especially considering she’s the one who is responsible for decimating his family.

“We’re just a little bit of history repeating,” she says and walks back to the power generator, her finger tapping on it. “History repeating…It’s not Jackson, is it? See, I thought it was him, but no, no, no, no, he’s got a little scratch on the back of his neck but…he’s not in love with Allison. Not like Scott.”

Damn it. Derek blames his vulnerable state for not being able to conceal any feelings on his face. If she gets to Scott, Peter will be left facing the hunters alone, and no matter how strong he is, he won’t fare well against all of them.

“Oh, sweetie, I really don’t want to torture you,” she repeats herself, and the door slides open, revealing a bald man entering the room. “But he does.”

_______________________________

When Kate comes back, Derek is so badly beaten up that he can hardly make out the words she’s saying to him.

“Now that we’ve established Scott is the second beta, I still need to know where I can find—”

 “I don’t know,” Derek says automatically, too sore and tired to speak, let alone think of an answer. He earns a slap for cutting her off, the blow weak compared to what she’s already put him through.

“Have you got no manners anymore?” She says with a cold tone, settling the chair in front of him and sitting down. “As I was saying, before you interrupted me, I need you to tell me where I can find the alpha, I’m afraid Scott McCall won’t be enough to find him.”

“I don’t—”

“Oh and I almost forgot, you still haven’t told me…who is that other werewolf?” She cuts him off with as much arrogance as he expects her to show, and cold shivers run underneath his skin when she brings up Danny again.

“I don’t know whom you’re talking about,” Derek spits, flickering his gaze away from her but she stands up and catches his jaw brusquely to force her eyes on his.

“Come on, Derek, don’t play dumb,” Kate returns. “You know whom I’m talking about. That hottie I caught you making out with right before I shot you both? Who is he, exactly?”

Rage surges through Derek when Kate confirms her shooting Danny. She just signed up for her death penalty. On the other hand, he also starts panicking now that he knows she saw them. It’s not surprising though, she did shoot him right after he and Danny kissed, she couldn’t have missed that.

“He’s just some clingy teenager who thinks I’m in love with him,” Derek says wryly. Denying would just raise her suspicions even more so he decides to go for sarcasm. The thing is, Derek could not qualify just what Danny and he are exactly other than mates and even that doesn’t cover it. Danny’s been sending mixed signals, what with his kissing Jackson and all. But Derek would rather focus on the other part, where Danny defended him against his own father, the sheer possessiveness he felt coming from the boy moments before he got shot. He doesn’t even know how Danny’s doing, has no idea what they could’ve possibly done to him. But he can’t show how much he cares about him, for fear of letting them use that knowledge to get to him. And he can’t have that, he can’t have Danny getting tortured and hurt even more than he’s already been because of him.

“Well, are you?” She gives him a scrutinizing look.

“I know better than that, thanks to you,” Derek replies drily. “What do you think? I just used him for sex, he got attached.”

“Right,” she drawls and Derek can’t tell if she got the lies he fed her with. She spins on her heels and walks over to the steel door, sliding it open before going back to the power panel and turning the power switch on again. This time, other than his own screams, he can now distinctively hear someone else’s voice coming through and it just seizes his heart, making it skip several beats.

“See, I noticed something while my dear colleague was having fun with you,” Kate says, pacing in front of him. “I heard that poor kid screaming like he was skinned alive when no one was even touching him. And he just kept shouting your name, so I figured you two are more than what you pretend to be.”

Derek remains silent, his chest constricted by fear as he watches Kate keep on with her rant.

“And I also noticed how fast you healed, _both of you_ , that’s not standard healing, even for you,” she stops pacing, standing inches from his face, same grin as ever. “You two are mates, aren’t you?”

______________________________________

Derek comes to with a start, gasping for air to breathe. He’s alone in the room, it looks like they finally left him alone when he passed out. He feels suddenly cold and he doesn’t know where the hunters have gone, can’t remember falling asleep to begin with. But then it strikes him as clear as day, he realizes why he’s been pulled from his unconscious state. He can’t _feel_ Danny anymore. He’s never even realized until now that, to some degree, Derek could feel the teenager’s presence. It’s hard to explain, but now that it’s gone, it’s conspicuously missing. It’s almost like Derek could feel him intrinsically, the same way he’s aware of his very own existence. This new void in him is excruciating, even more so than the wounds he’s suffering or the uncomfortable position he’s in. A thought occurs to him and he tries to ignore it, but it keeps nagging at him, supplying an answer for this sudden inability to feel his mate. But he can’t, he can’t imagine that…that Danny could be dead. He can’t compute that. He would kill himself. If the Argents don’t do it, he’ll do it first thing when— _if—_ he breaks free from them. The steel door suddenly slides open and he can see Kate come in, looking quite flustered and mad.

“I’ve officially lost my patience, Derek, tell me who the alpha is,” she threatens him, gun pointed at him. “Is it her? That woman?”

“What woman?” Derek mumbles, truly confused now, unable to think properly past the hollowness he feels in his chest. It’s terrifying how empty he feels, how _incomplete_ his life seems now, meaningless even.

“Don’t be cute, now,” Kate retorts harshly. “She came for your little jailbait and now he’s gone, with one of my men nearly killed in the process. So…tell me, _now_ , is that her? Is she the alpha? Who is she? Where can I find her?”

“I honestly don’t. _know,_ ” Derek shoots back, unfazed by Kate shouting at him, too caught up in his own misery to care much about Kate. He breathes out in relief, glad to know Danny escaped, safe and sound, he assumes. He doesn’t know what woman Kate is talking about, but if said woman risked her life and hurt the hunters to get Danny free, he can only assume she only has Danny’s best interests at heart. That alone is enough information for Derek, he doesn’t need to know more about whom she is, how she found them, how she managed to even overpower the hunters. If anything, he feels like he can die in peace now, the prospect of death seeming so sweet to him.

“You’re utterly useless,” Kate mutters under her breath. “You leave me no choice, Derek.”


	11. Getting you back

When Danny comes to, he is being carried on someone's back, his nose buried in lemon-smelling hair that is familiar and reminds him of home. His mind is numb and his vision blurry, but he can still make out trees passing by. He’s in the woods and it’s broad daylight. How long has it been since he and Derek were abducted? A day? Two days? Danny doesn’t know, his body is sore all over, and his heart is beating unusually slowly.

"Mom?" It's the first thing that pops into his head and though it sounds impossible—how could his mother carry him and run at the same time?—he can't think of another person at the moment.

"Yes, it's me, baby, you're okay now," his mother's voice is as soothing as ever and Danny slowly remembers what happened. Derek getting shot. Himself getting shot. Waking up in a dark and cold room, hands and ankles tied. Pain. He remembers pain so vividly he can still feel it lingering on his skin. He remembers a gruff looking man standing guard, watching him impassively while Danny screamed out an invisible pain. 

“How did you find me?” his head is in such a haze right now it’s all he can do not to fall back into unconsciousness. He asks the first thing that comes to his mind, and it’s a valid question.

“I have my ways,” is the curt answer Danny gets from his mother.  It doesn’t answer his question at all. It’s an evasive reply, one that means Danny isn’t going to get a real answer now and most likely never.

"Derek," Danny mutters suddenly, the name slipping out of his lips a real shock running through his entire body and bringing him to full awareness. He releases his grip around his mother to drop on the ground, the impact knocking the breath out of him. He crawls on leaves and fragile branches, resting on his hands and knees to catch his breath.

"Danny! What are you doing?" His mother is crouching by his side, hands cupping his face. She looks so worried, and now that Danny takes a good look at her, he notices she's wearing blue scrubs. It's odd, she never wears scrubs. His mother's a doctor at the hospital and she's not a surgeon. She usually just puts on a white coat over her regular clothes. He doesn't understand why she's wearing scrubs now of all time.

“Why are you wearing scrubs?” Danny asks the question as soon as it pops into his head, his mind is still not at full capacity.

“It was the most convenient thing I could think of,” she replies. Another vague answer. It unsettles Danny, his mother isn’t the cryptic type. No, his mother is someone who’s clear and straight to the point, that’s how surgeons usually are. There’s something that’s not quite right here, but Danny can’t dwell on that. He has other priorities.

"I have to go back, Derek, he's still there, they're going to kill him," Danny rasps out as fast as he can, his pulse going from slow to rapid as panic settles in.  He can't help it, he feels the urgency to go back and get Derek, to protect him. Danny stands up on shaky legs, supported by his mother who grabs his chin and looks him straight in the eye.

"Oh no," she says with a mournful tone as she studies his face, and takes his right hand brusquely to examine it. "Where's your ring?"

It takes him a couple second to process her question, and then direct his gaze to his hand when he understands what his mother's referring to. His baby ring. The one his grandfather gave him. It's not adorning his ring finger, as it should be.

"I have no idea," Danny replies truthfully, and it's the least of his worries. He starts walking in the direction he thinks they came from, judging by the trail his mother left, but the latter grips his arm firmly and spins him around to face her again.

"You're not going anywhere, young man," she warns him with her serious voice—the one she reserves for serious situations—and then yanks off the gold chain she always wears around her neck, dropping a small ring in the palm of her hand. It's his ring, the one he got from his grandfather when he was born and couldn't fit on any of his fingers until the age of six.

"Where did you find it? I didn't even know I'd lost it," Danny frowns as he looks at the gold band his mother is now holding between her thumb and index.

"It's not yours, it’s mine, but it'll have to do," his mother replies curtly before taking his hand in a firm grasp and before he knows it, the ring is shoved on his finger where it used to be. “Come now, we have to get going.”

It’s instantaneous, the air is sucked out of him and his heart constricts so tightly Danny feels like it’s completely bereft of blood. He can’t breathe and he falls down to his knees, clutching his chest with his hand. It’s so heavy, his chest his filled with invisible lead, weighing him down and a few tears escape but Danny’s not lucky enough to be relieved from this excruciating pain through sobs. He’s suffocating. And he can only think of Derek. Where’s Derek? He can’t feel the other man anymore. It doesn’t make sense but he can’t feel him.

“Derek,” Danny barely lets out, struggling to get back up on wobbly legs. “I have to find him; they’re going to kill him!”

“No, you are not going back there, we need to get you somewhere safe,” his mother retorts but her words are lost on him. He’s starting to walk again when his mother holds him back forcefully.

“ _Please_ ,” Danny gives way to his weak legs again, the rough ground grazing his kneecaps furthermore. He can’t feel Derek and it scares him to no end. He can’t even fathom the eventuality that…no. He can’t even finish the thought. Why can’t he feel Derek anymore? For hours, he’s been able to share every stings and whips that’s been laid upon Derek’s body as vividly as if it was his own body that was tortured.

His mother heaves a frustrated sigh and her sharp eyes meet his, her strong fingers catching his chin to get his full attention. “You don’t move, I’m going to get him.”

Danny nods, too numbed by the hollowness inside of him and too weak to do much else anyhow. His mother somehow produces a gun out of nowhere and launches into a sprint back the way they came from. The wait is consuming. Danny’s fidgeting, sitting back on his feet, a cool breeze making him realize how bare his skin is and how chilly he actually feels. He’s only wearing jeans he doesn’t remember having put on and nothing else. He can feel the dirt on the plant of his feet and between his toes, making him crave a steaming hot shower.

Above all else, he’s craving the touch of Derek. His mind is set on that one track. Derek. It’s scary how it’s become an obsession. His hands are shaky, his breathing erratic—at times rapid and at others slow—his heart beating steadily but strongly against his ribcage. Why are they taking so long?  They’re taking too long. How long has it been? Danny has no idea but the wait is gnawing at him, causing his body to move on its own eventually and in a matter of seconds he’s standing on his feet and walking.

He doesn't actually know where he's going; he just walks in the direction he thinks his mother went, wincing every time his bare feet land on dead branches or wet and gooey stuff he'd rather not think about. The sharp cold air and the walk are helping him find focus and clear his head a little, a definite improvement from the chaos he was in earlier. He doesn’t even question his weird obsession with Derek anymore. He just wants to be able to feel Derek’s warm presence again. He didn’t even know until now that he could, it’s a concept so bizarre that he just cannot explain it. All of a sudden, he felt like the life was sucked out of him and a void was left inside. And all of that happened when his mother put the ring back on his finger. The realization makes him stop dead in his tracks, bringing his hand up to examine the ring, fiddling with it around his finger. Could it be that the ring was the cause of the sudden emptiness in his chest? _Only one way to find out, Danny,_ he tells himself and removes it.

“Danny!” He spins around fast at the mention on his name and makes out two figures walking toward him a few yards away. Just as quickly as the feeling had left him, it comes back. It’s warm and familiar and it’s comforting. It’s Derek. They made it. His mother found Derek. He runs towards them after securely putting the ring in his jeans’ pocket. He’s whole again. Derek is back. As Danny gets closer to them, he sees with horror the poor state Derek’s body is in. He’s as undressed as Danny is; his body bruised and bloody all over and he’s limping with an arm thrown over his mother’s shoulders. _When did she get so strong?_ Danny wonders as he watches her support a big guy like Derek. He runs to their side to help his mother but Derek lets go of her and throws himself over Danny, wrapping him in his arms.

“You’re okay,” Derek mutters in his ear, with what sounds like relief and despair in his voice. Danny hugs him back, reveling in the feel of Derek’s bare skin against his, not caring at the moment for the bruises that adorn Derek’s body.

“You are not though,” Danny mumbles in the crook of Derek’s neck, shifting his head to look up at his mother, her gaze hard and perplexed.

“I’ll be fine,” Derek assures him, his hand cupping the side of Danny’s face as their eyes lock together. Danny seizes this opportunity to take a good look at Derek, inspecting every inch of him. Derek’s face is marred with cuts and bloodied bruises, just like the rest of his body. Danny remembers every one of them for he felt them too even if his own body doesn’t have the evidence to show it. He doesn’t know how it could’ve been possible, but it did happen. Derek and he…they are linked somehow, there’s no other explanation. Derek’s beautiful blue eyes convey so much emotion at the moment, they look at Danny with pure joy and adoration mixed with relief and guilt.

“Let’s go back, you said you had your car around, right?” his mother interrupts their moment, her tone cold and impatient as she looks at them impatiently.  Derek lets go of him and turns to nod at her. Danny takes Derek’s arm to drape it over his shoulders but the latter declines, telling him he can walk on his own now. And he does. Derek’s recovered remarkably fast, but Danny’s not so surprised anymore, having seen it first hand before.

“Where are we, exactly?” Danny asks as they walk, his mother staying close to him, gun in hand and looking around frantically. Derek’s taking the lead and Danny tries to avoid looking at the man, tries to look at anything but Derek’s back muscles and his narrow hips. And his ass. Derek Hale fits jeans like no one else. _Stop it, Danny_ ,he scolds himself and shakes his head to snap out of his inappropriate staring.

“We’re out of town, in the woods,” Derek replies, turning around briefly to shoot him a smile that makes Danny’s heart flutter ever so slightly. “We’re not far from my house.”

Everything from then goes by in a blur as exhaustion catches up with him. The walk to Derek’s old burnt house that Danny’s only ever seen in newspapers takes five minutes of walking top. He falls asleep as soon as his back hits the comfy cushion of Derek’s car.  Danny’s always found sleep easily during car rides, there’s something about the motor humming and the almost imperceptible rocking that soothe him and make him relax.

He’s soon awaken by voices and it takes him a second to remember he’s with his mother and Derek, his mother riding shotgun because she wanted to let Danny have the entire backseat to himself. Or so she says. Danny thinks she actually wants to keep an eye on Derek. She doesn’t like him, Danny can tell. They’re talking quite animatedly, probably thinking Danny’s still asleep. He shuts his eyes and keeps a steady breathing, pretending he’s still asleep to listen in.

“No need to thank me, I only saved your ass for Danny,” his mother says quite harshly.

“Nevertheless, I’m still thankful you did,” Derek replies. “I never meant for him to get caught up in my mess.”

“He wouldn’t have if you had stayed away from him,” she snaps icily. “I want you to give me his ring back.”

“What ring?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Hale, only you could’ve known what the ring is for and taken it,” she says impatiently.

“I can assure you I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Derek retorts. Danny’s confused. What’s so special about his baby ring? It’s just something he got from his grandfather. There’s a moment of silence and Danny hears some movement, suspecting his mother turned in her seat to check his asleep state.

“You know about Danny, right?” she whispers so low Danny almost can’t hear it.

“Yes, and he knows about me being a werewolf,” Derek returns.

“You told him?”

“Yes, is that a problem…?” Derek trails off and his mother’s conspicuously silent, making Danny’s heart beating increasingly faster as he awaits her response. “You mean he doesn’t about him being—”

About him being what? Danny wonders, although he has a strong suspicion now, and his heart is thumping hard at the thought. Derek doesn’t get to finish his question as his mother cuts the latter off.

“No, I never told him,” she says abruptly. “That’s what the ring is for. Since his sister and he are only…half-blooded, we gave them the inhibition rings the moment they were born, so that they would never have to go through the transformation and live normal lives. What would’ve been the point of telling them?”

“I see. But I wasn’t even aware that such rings existed, let alone that Danny had one, I didn’t take it,” Derek replies.

“Then who did? He never takes it off.”

“I don’t know.”

They come to a stop and Danny assumes they got to their destination. He still can’t believe everything he’s just heard. His parents have lied to him—and to his sister—their entire lives. He’s still not sure about what exactly but he’s got a pretty good idea now although he doesn’t want to admit it might actually be true. That he’s half human half werewolf. Does that mean his mother is a werewolf? Or is it his father? It seems more likely it’s his mother though. It would explain a lot of things. Everything that she’s done today, for instance. She saved him and Derek on her own, she displayed great stamina and amazing strength he never thought she possessed.

“Thanks for the ride,” his mother says, bringing him back out of his thoughts. “But I never want to see you around my son again.”

“I…I’m not sure I can promise you that,” Derek says hesitantly and Danny agrees with him. He can’t stay away from Derek—at least, he doesn’t think he can nor wants to—especially after everything they’ve been through. If anything, he wants to be with Derek now more than he ever did. He decides it’s time for him to wake up.

“Neither am I,” Danny speaks up, getting the attention from both Derek and his mother who turn to look at him, eyes wide with surprise to see him awake. Now that his eyes are open, Danny sees they are parked in the driveway of his home. “I…I’ve heard everything, Mom.”

“Danny…”

“And I like Derek,” Danny adds, eyes catching Derek’s gaze. Derek looks pleased but looks like he’s trying to hide it—probably because his mother’s sitting right next to him. “Can we just go inside and talk? I think you owe me a proper explanation.”

 “All right,” his mother lets out a sigh before getting out of the car and Danny does as well, gesturing at Derek to follow them. He huddles close to the other man, craving his touch. Thankfully, Derek returns it, seeming as eager as Danny is and it makes him sigh in relief.

They’re safe now. Everything’s going to be ok, Danny thinks. His father and Jackson rush to greet them as soon as they go inside the house, and they both look downright crazy. They have dark bags under their eyes and their hair is a mess. They must have been worried sick. Danny goes to hug his father, relieved to know he’s all right. The last time he saw them, they were lying unconscious on the hallway floor. Danny pulls away to turn to Jackson and sees the horror in his best friend’s gaze. Jackson’s looking straight at Derek and Danny remembers how the two of them are fighting over him. He doesn’t want to deal with his and takes Jackson in his arms, trying to stop his friend’s shaking.

“I’m fine, Jacks, I’m fine,” Danny mumbles soothingly, trying to ignore the fact that he’s still shirtless. “You should go home and get some rest, how long have you stayed here?”

“It’s been a day, Dan,” Jackson replies weakly, stifling a sob. Danny wants to just cuddle in bed with him and comfort his friend—and frankly, he could use some comfort too—but Derek’s right behind them and he just can’t ignore the flare of jealousy he can sense from Derek. He’s never been able to pick up on it so easily before now nor could he feel it as strongly, but he does.

“He’s right, sweetie, your parents must be worried,” Danny’s mother comes to the rescue, placing a gentle hand on Jackson’s shoulder. Jackson looks back and forth between her, Danny and Derek before finally nodding and letting her lead him out.

“I…I’m exhausted, actually, can we talk later, Mom?” Danny yawns, feeling the exhaustion of the past 24 hours of pure hell catch up with him.

“Of course, honey,” his mother’s eyes soften, her hand stroking his cheek as gently as he remembers her to be. He wants his bed so badly right now that he could crash on it and pass out, but he does needs a bath beforehand, after his time spent in captivity. The blood, the sweat and the woods have made a mess out of his body and the warm water would definitely help with his aching muscles. He turns to look at Derek, longing to be held by his strong arms in his bed and just sleep forever with the man.

“Uh…What about Derek?” Danny dares ask, wondering if his parents would even let Derek sleep in the same room with him, let alone in the same bed. Danny has little hope they would. His father wasn’t all that thrilled to have Derek around before they both got shot and bagged away, and his mother didn’t hide her hostility toward him. Danny understands them, in a way. He had his own reservations about Derek too, and from their perspective, Danny recognizes Derek did bring a lot of trouble. Danny should probably forget about the man and go on with his life but at the moment, it just doesn’t seem like he can actually do that. His life’s forever changed and he cannot envision it without Derek in it.

“He can take a shower in the common bathroom,” his mother says neutrally, the little edge in her voice gone. “And he gets to sleep on the couch if he wants to.”

“I don’t want to impose, I could just leave,” Derek says from his tense stance by the main entrance.

“That would be a good idea,” Danny’s father points out but Danny glares at him, walking over to Derek and taking his arm in his.

“No, I want him to stay,” Danny refuses to let Derek go now; too scared that whoever captured them go after him. “They could come back for him, they probably are looking for us right now.”

“Go get cleaned up, Danny, he can stay,” his mother concedes, fingers rubbing her forehead in clear indication that she’s got a headache coming up. Danny smiles at her to thank her and turns to grab Derek’s hands but she adds, “He is not to come with you though.”

“Mom—”

“Danny, no,” his father chimes in, putting his foot down with his mother. Derek nods at him and Danny lets go of Derek’s arm, walking up the stairs to his bedroom, wishing he could have Derek’s warm and strong body to shield him from the nightmares that would surely come to haunt him tonight.


	12. Getting us somewhere

Danny tosses and turns in bed, sleep eluding him. He plays with the ring in his hand, tossing it between his fingers, never actually sliding it on. He’s exhausted, and his body wants nothing more than to rest, but his mind won’t let him. He tries to clear his head, to steady his breathing, and nothing works. His mind keeps drifting back to Derek, to everything that happened within the last 24 hours. It all happened so fast, so anarchically and without a break that it almost feels like none of it was real. That it was all just a dream.

Derek is still in the house, down in the living room, so close but so far away. He can feel Derek’s presence, a feeling so funny and unlike anything he ever experienced that it can’t be missed; an ability he has also accepted by now. What he hasn’t wrapped his head around though is the fact that he’s in fact, not human. Not entirely, at least. He draws in a deep breath and ignores the painful need to go downstairs and hold Derek in his arms, ignores the ache in his chest that tells him to just stop resisting and give in. He doesn’t know exactly why he’s so adamant on resisting Derek now, when he was so desperate on being with the latter earlier. He looks at the ring, remembering the effect it had on him earlier in the woods when he put it on. The lost connection to Derek, the void he felt in his heart; it had all happened when he put on that ring. According to what his mother said, this little piece of jewelry has the power to—somehow repress his werewolf state. The logical conclusion Danny draws from that piece of information is that his attraction to Derek was only supernatural. Manufactured. Not real. If only it could be that simple, that easy. As far as Danny knows, he was wearing his ring when he first met Derek. He was wearing his ring when he saw Derek last Friday night. And at the time, he was still enamored with the man. There is more to it, alas, more than Danny wants to think about.

He suddenly hears the distinct beeping of his parents’ pagers, and springs to his feet, going out of his room to see his parents dressing up hurriedly in the hallway.

“Go back to bed, sweetie, we have an emergency at the hospital,” his mom tells him as she slips on a blouse, his father already dressed in khakis and finishing to button his shirt up.

“What happened?” Danny inquires, always curious to know what’s stealing his parents away from home.

“Don’t know, we’ll see you later, okay? You should get some rest, skip school tomorrow, all right?” His dad says and pats him in the back and goes down the stairs, his mother on his tail.

“Sweet dreams, baby,” his mother kisses him on the cheek before following her husband down the stairs. Danny pads over to the railing by the stairs, watching his parents down in the hall basically telling Derek to leave the house by offering the latter a ride. Danny locks eyes with Derek briefly, his heart jumping in his chest when Derek nods at whatever his parents are saying, his gaze never leaving Danny. A second later, they’re all gone, leaving Danny on his own. He’s better off this way, Danny tells himself. With no Derek around, he should be able to rest more easily.

Taking some time apart from the man might be good for him, in the end. The last 48 hours _have_ been insane. Danny needs his life to get back on track; he needs things to get back to normal. He gets back inside his room and grabs the ring from his bed, holding it in his fist tightly, feeling the cold and smooth material warming up against his skin. He ponders what to do, pacing back and forth at the foot of his bed. He remembers vividly well how it felt, losing the connection to Derek. How painful and emptying it was. Making up his mind, Danny bites down on his bottom lip and slides the ring back on his finger. He slips back under the covers, breathing in slowly through his nose as he feels his chest grow hollow once again, as though the contents of his heart were being sucked by black hole. He squeezes his eyes shut, and tries to clear his head to finally get the rest he needs. It’s past one in the morning, so if by some miracle he does manage to fall asleep, he’ll barely get five hours of rest until tomorrow—well, technically later in the morning, but still. He hates going to school with less than six hours of sleep. Besides, he probably earned a day off, considering what happened to him, but he needs the routine to forget. He needs classes, classmates, lacrosse. No Derek, no crazy people abducting him every hour. And sleep.

—————————

Derek takes off in his car, Danny’s parents right behind him to make sure he actually leaves their son alone. The Mahealanis—if the name Derek saw on their mailbox was any indication—made it perfectly clear they didn’t want to see him around their Danny again, which Derek understood, in a way. It wasn’t that simple though, he just couldn’t stay away. Derek waits for their car to take another direction and disappear from his rear view mirror, to make a U-turn and go back the way he came from, back to Danny. He knows better than to park his Camaro in the Mahealanis’ driveway, and parks it in a secluded place before pursuing on foot.

Once he gets there, Derek finds his way up to the rooftop again, with a clear view inside Danny’s room. Danny’s pacing, a frown marring his face as his eyes are fixed on something he holds between his fingers. Derek feels a bit like a creep, watching Danny like this, but he tells himself he’s just keeping an eye on Danny, making sure he’s safe. It’s a good thing he got a chance to rest a bit back at Danny’s house, his many healing wounds taking a lot out of him. He has been healing faster though, and he still has a hard time believing that such a fit is possible. He still has a hard time believing that he and Danny are destined mates.

Derek sits down on the rooftop, looking up at the dark clear sky, breathing in the fresh night air. His shoulders relax, and exhaustion takes hold of him again, rendering his eyelids heavy. He shuts his eyes, focuses on the steady sound of Danny’s heartbeat, and draws in the faint scent of Danny transported by a light breeze coming from Danny’s room. Focusing his senses on Danny is particularly soothing, and it makes Derek crave the feel of Danny’s body against his. It’s all he’s missing right now.

His eyes snap open when he loses that unspoken and invisible link to Danny, the pain in his heart flares up. He rushes to Danny’s window, adrenaline coursing through his vessels, and slides in the room with ease. His heart settles down when his gaze finds Danny, the latter safe and sound in bed.

“What the—Derek? What are you doing here?” Danny demands, sitting up in bed and looking at him expectantly. Derek’s at a loss, wondering where that odd feeling came from. Danny’s still here, safe and sound, and yet Derek can’t _feel_ him. Not as clearly as he could only a couple minutes ago. He gets closer to the bed, his hands aching to touch Danny as the latter stands up before him.

“I…” Derek trails off, not knowing what he could possibly say under Danny’s inquisitive look. Their bodies are attracted to one another like magnets, as their feet seem to move on their own to close the gap separating them. “I couldn’t sense you,” Derek adds in a whisper.

He feels almost stupid voicing this out loud, but he’s surprised to see recognition light up in Danny’s eyes, as though he understood what Derek meant. After all, it wouldn’t be completely farfetched to think Danny could sense this connection between them as well.

“It’s the ring,” Danny explains, holding his hand up where said artifact is adorning his ring finger. “Since it sort of inhibits my…God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, my ‘wolf’ half, I figured it would also inhibit this weird link between you and I.”

Everything Danny just said makes sense, and it pains him to see Danny pushing him away again. Derek’s confused; for once again Danny’s actions and words are being contradictory. Danny wanted him to stay earlier, had even defied his own parents to make it happen. Derek thought it meant something, he thought Danny wanted him—at least, as much as Derek wanted Danny. But now Danny tries to deny this bond between them, tries to shove it away with this magic ring, and it unnerves Derek, to say the least.

“You’re saying you wore it knowing what it would do? You wore it for that purpose?” Derek asks as he grasps Danny’s hand to examine the ring.

“Y—Yes,” Danny stammers, diverting his gaze away from Derek’s face. Derek closes his eyes, lets go of Danny’s hand and inhales deeply, crushed and furious at the same time.

“All right,” Derek mutters, and takes a step back from Danny. He doesn’t think he could’ve made his intentions toward Danny any clearer, and doesn’t have it in him to take more rejection. “So you are aware of this…this link between us, and you chose to…to shove it away.”

“Yes, I did,” Danny confirms, still refusing to look Derek in the eye. Derek tries to push down the pain surging through him and takes a step back, drawing in a deep breath to calm down. He wants to get away so he can collect himself, so Danny can get what he wants; be rid of Derek.

“Derek, wait,” Danny grabs Derek’s hand, stopping him before he can go any further away. The simple touch sends sparks through Derek, lighting up his whole body and making him more alert. His gaze seeks Danny’s, wondering if the latter felt that too. “We should talk.”

“Fine, let’s talk,” Derek can barely contain the resentment in his voice, and he crosses his arms over his chest. He searches for Danny’s eyes, trying to figure out what the teenager’s feeling at the moment, but all he can get out of Danny is confusion. They wait in silence for the other to speak up, or perhaps they both are thinking about what to say in this situation.

“I really am a werewolf, aren’t I?” Danny mumbles at last, the question taking Derek aback. There’s no point in lying, Derek figures, considering Danny already knows. Danny just wants confirmation, Derek realizes. Learning you’re a supernatural creature the way Danny did must be a tough piece of news to process. Derek never had that problem, seeing as he grew up knowing he was a werewolf his entire life.

“Yes,” Derek answers, following Danny to the bed where they sit next to each other. “I mean, not a full on werewolf, you heard that, right?”

“Yeah,” Danny snorts, shaking his head. “Can’t believe I’ve been lied to my whole life.”

“But you know why they lied to you,” Derek points out and moves until his arm touches Danny’s, unable to keep himself from getting closer to the latter.

“Yeah, wouldn’t have changed anything anyway if they’d told me, I guess,” Danny says, fiddling with the ring around his finger. Derek puts his hand over Danny’s, giving it a light squeeze, prompting Danny to glance up at him. Another long silence falls between them, and Derek thinks of the best way to broach the subject that’s been eating away at him.

“What do you want, Danny?” Derek asks eventually, his thumb tracing circles on the back of Danny’s hand. “I’m at a loss here, I keep getting mixed signals from you.”

“Derek, we’ve known each other for barely two days,” Danny starts to say, heaving a long sigh. “Have you ever stopped for a second and wondered just what the hell is going on between us?”

“No—”

“I mean, you have to admit that this is thing between us is _not_ normal. Even for you. You jumped on me the first time we met. And I haven’t been able to get you off my mind ever since, I’ve been _obsessed_ with you, actually, with this need to be with you, to protect you.“

“So have I,” is all Derek says, because really, what more could he say? From Danny’s point of view, everything the latter’s just said is sound. Danny does raise valid points. But Derek doesn’t question what he feels for Danny, part of the reason why being that he knows better. Knows why he’s so attached to Danny. Even if it’s pure instinct, Derek doesn’t mind. It doesn’t lessen the truth or validity of his feelings for Danny. Derek’s world has never been logic, it never made much sense to begin with, and he’s learned to live with it.

“And it doesn’t bother you?” Danny inquires, his tone surprised, his eyes wide as they settle on Derek. “It doesn’t bother you that you met me two days ago, that I don’t know you, that you don’t know me and that we still—two days ago, Derek. Two days is nothing!”

“So what?” Derek counters, squeezing Danny’s hands in his as he holds Danny’s gaze. “So what if we met two days ago? Why can’t you believe that this— _us—_ that this is real? Is it so strange to think two people can fall for one another in two days?”

“Of course it is!” Danny raised his voice, taking his hands back from Derek. “This can’t be real, and this,” he holds up his hand, pointing at the ring, “is the very proof of it. I put this on, I repress the wolf, and I repress the link between us. It’s…it’s like what I feel for you is manufactured. It’s…it’s supernatural, there’s no logic in this.”

“And since when is there logic in love?” Derek retorts, frowning at Danny. He gets up from the bed and kneels in front of Danny, cupping the latter’s face. Before he starts to lose himself in the depths of Danny’s bright brown eyes, Derek brings their lips together in a slow and tender kiss, his heart speeding up at the contact. Even if the connection between them is inhibited or whatever, Derek still feels goose bumps on his skin from the kiss, he still feels a chill running down his spine, and his heart going erratic. He still feels his chest getting light as air and filled with pure joy.

“You can’t tell me this didn’t make you feel anything,” Derek mutters as they pull away, resting his forehead against Danny’s. “Ring or no ring, this is real. I trust my instincts, I always have. And they tell me that I want you, that I need you.”

“So you admit that this is nothing but basic instincts. You don’t actually want me for me, you want me because something inside you tells you so,” Danny shoots back, turning his head to the side. Derek can sense some discomfort coming from Danny in those last words, and he can tell Danny’s trying to be careful, as though he’s been burned before.

“I want you because you cared,” Derek starts explaining, bringing his hands down to Danny’s neck, his thumbs brushing the underline of Danny’s jaw. “You cared for me in a way that no one has for a while, when you had no reason to. And you’re right, I don’t know you all that well, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to—it’s quite the opposite actually.”

Derek holds his breath as he waits for Danny to say something, _anything_ , his heartbeat the only sound he hears along with Danny’s. They remain in an eerie silence that starts to get on Derek’s nerves as worry washes over him.

“I don’t know what to think, Derek,” Danny whispers at last, and Derek takes this as a good sign. A sign that Danny’s last barriers are falling down, and that Derek just has to take what’s his.

“Then don’t,” Derek suggests, leaning in for another kiss and moaning softly when Danny gives in. He can’t get enough of this, of the physical contact with Danny. He loses himself in the kiss, and wraps his arms around Danny’s back, taking both their bodies down on the bed until Danny lies on his back with Derek resting on top of him. He realizes now just how much he’s wanted this, how much he’s craved Danny. His hands travel down Danny’s front until they reach the hem of Danny’s tee shirt, and they slide underneath it, making contact with Danny’s soft skin.

Danny responds with a light moan, their lips never parting from each other and Derek feels like he’s won him over, at last. He feels like this is it, Danny’s finally his. Having Danny’s entire body lined up against his, their legs intertwined, their hips and chests pressed together; it feels like heaven.

“Wait,” Danny says and pushes Derek away, panting as he looks up at Derek. “I…We can’t do this.”

“Why not?” Derek asks, moving his lips down to Danny’s jaw and then Danny’s neck, nipping at the tender skin. His hands slide Danny’s shirt further up, revealing more bare skin for Derek to stroke. “You want this as much as I do, don’t you, Danny?”

“Y—Yes,” Danny sounds hesitant but Derek still takes this as one more victory. He stands on his knees on either side of Danny’s hips to take his shirt off, grinning when he sees Danny’s eyes roaming over his torso. He leans in to kiss Danny’s neck again when he feels hands pushing his shoulders.

“No, Derek,” Danny protests and sits up, forcing Derek to sit back. Derek refrains from groaning in frustration, barely able to control his need to take Danny right here and now.

“I don’t want to do this, not under these circumstances,” Danny adds and gets out of bed, turning his back to Derek.

“What do you mean?” Derek demands and follows Danny, standing right behind the latter. He tentatively puts his hands on Danny’s shoulders, relieved when Danny welcomes the touch.

“I just don’t want to sleep with you not knowing what we are, where we stand, what you really want,” Danny replies, turning around to face Derek. “What if we wake up one day and these feelings we have for each other are gone? I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk. You might trust your instincts, but I don’t.”

“I told you, I want you—”

“Hold on, just let me finish,” Danny cuts Derek off, putting his hands on Derek’s bare chest for a second before he takes them back, the brief and warm contact lingering on Derek’s skin. Derek grabs both Danny’s hands in his, and locks eyes with him, hoping he can win Danny over with his most earnest gaze. He’s getting tired of this, tired of Danny changing his mind every God damn second, and he’s this close to go out of his mind. Danny’s right in front of him, and yet Derek still can’t have him, because Danny’s brain just won’t shut off for a second and has to get in the way. Under other circumstances, Derek would appreciate the fact that Danny is such a smart guy. Namely, if this particular trait didn’t make Danny overthink things and cock block Derek. Still, Derek listens to what Danny has to say, because he really does cares for Danny, and he will do what it takes to convince Danny he’s worth taking a chance on.

“Derek, I’m a teenager, I’m still in high school and you’re…you know, I don’t even know how old you are—”

“I’m 22—”

“22!” Danny scoffs, shaking his head and taking his hands back from Derek. “Derek, I like you beyond reason, you can probably tell that, even though I barely know you. And since I met you, I almost got killed not once, but _twice_! I can’t live a life like this. I want to have a normal life, a life where I don’t have to worry about my safety, or my family’s. I’m sorry for jerking you around like this, but I’m just trying to make sense of things.”

“So what are you saying?” Derek’s voice trembles ever so slightly as his jaw clenches, his heart beating so hard and fast he can hardly comprehend what Danny’s just told him.

“I’m saying that I need time,” Danny answers him and takes a step back. “Can you do that? Give me time? I need to settle back into my routine, think back on everything.”

Derek is speechless for the longest time. He opens his mouth several times to speak but his words fail him. Danny’s eyes are pleading him, and he can’t resist that look, even if his heart screams at him that he could lose Danny if he said yes. But Danny’s right. He can’t put his life in danger because of Derek. If Derek leaves Danny alone for now, he and his uncle could take care of the Argents. That way he can be with Danny freely.

“Derek?” Danny calls him, still waiting for an answer.

“Yeah,” Derek says at last, swallowing the lump in his throat. He lets out a long breath, eyes shut. “I can do that,” he adds and forces a light smile. Danny responds with a nod, looking away from Derek.

“But just so you know,” Derek says as he puts his shirt back on, getting Danny’s attention back. “You and I? We’re not over, will never be,” he finishes, stepping closer to give a peck on Danny’s cheek. And on that note, Derek leaves through the window he came in earlier.

—————

Derek doesn’t go far, since he can’t bring himself to leave Danny alone and defenseless. So he settles on the roof right above Danny’s room. Lying on his back, hands tucked under his head, he gazes upon the stars above him. He’s still healing from his wounds, the lingering pain slowly fading away. His watch indicates it’s 1 a.m. when Derek succumbs to sleep once again, soothed by the sound of Danny’s steady breathing and the cool night air.

Derek startles awake when he hears a scream, recognizing the voice as Danny’s. He jolts right up on his feet and within seconds he’s inside Danny’s room again. Danny’s still asleep, his face is contorted in pain, his chest heaving quickly as he keeps muttering Derek’s name. Derek rushes to his side, pained to see Danny so agitated, to hear Danny shouting his name so desperately.

“Danny, hey,” Derek sits on the bed, shaking Danny’s shoulder lightly. “I’m right here.”

Danny’s skin is burning, and his entire body’s covered in cold sweat. Derek gets up from the bed and opens the windows wide to let a cool breeze in before he ventures in the adjacent bathroom. He grabs a towel and runs it under cold water, going back in the room to wipe the sweat off of Danny’s face and neck. He can feel the temperature drop a little in the room, and runs a hand through Danny's hair.

Danny latches onto Derek all of a sudden, arms snaking around Derek’s middle, head pressed against Derek’s chest. Derek tentatively puts his own arms securely around Danny, kissing the top of Danny’s head.

“Derek…” Danny murmurs, pain and need laced in his voice. Danny seems to be asleep still, so Derek maneuvers their bodies down on the bed, getting his shoes off while doing so, until they’re lying on their side, facing each other. Danny holds onto him for dear life, and Derek can’t hide the joy he gets from being needed like this. He’s surprised to see the alarm clock on Danny’s nightstand reading 5:13 am, surprised that he managed to sleep for that long on the hard tiled-roof above.

As the minutes go by, Danny calms down in Derek’s arms, the frown fading from his beautiful face and his breathing slowing down to a steady one. Derek rolls on his back and settles Danny’s head on his chest. He tangles their legs together, loving the feel of Danny’s body intertwined with his. Derek feels at home, holding Danny in his embrace like this, and doesn’t doubt for a moment that this is where he belongs. If only Danny could see it. Derek just has to show Danny that a relationship between them isn’t doomed, that he can get them somewhere. Derek falls back into a deep sleep shortly after, a smile gracing his lips as he tightens his hold around Danny.


	13. Losing my mind

Danny wakes up slowly, bright light stirring him out of a deep and comfortable sleep. He nuzzles into his pillow, his arms tightening their hold around something solid and warm. His eyes snap open then, and he realizes he’s not resting on his pillow so much as _someone_. Looking up, he sees Derek staring at him with a fond gaze and a soft smile. _When did he get here?_ Danny wonders, recalling perfectly well Derek leaving last night after their long and tiring conversation. He’s quickly aware of the morning wood he’s sporting, livid when he realizes how his erection is pressed against Derek’s thigh, their legs intertwined together. It doesn’t help that Danny can feel Derek’s own morning wood against his leg.

“Morning,” Derek greets him with an easy smile, his hand running lazily through Danny’s hair. Danny jerks his hips back from Derek’s warm body and disentangles his legs from the latter’s, feeling his ears burning red from embarrassment.

“Morning,” he mumbles back, and glances at his clock, seeing the blue numbers indicating 7 am. He heaves a sigh and rests his head back on Derek’s chest, too tired to get up, too comfortable in the warm cocoon of Derek’s arms around him. Resisting a gorgeous man like Derek is tiring, after all. Under other circumstances, he would’ve gladly welcomed someone like Derek in bed, worry free. If only this relationship wasn’t so complicated and strange, Danny thinks.

Danny closes his eyes and breathes in gently, debating what he should do now. He has more than enough time to get ready for school if he wants. And maybe he should, after all. He wasn’t so sure last night, but he can’t possibly stay here all day with Derek, can he? He’s not supposed to see Derek in the first place—he’s pretty sure his parents wouldn’t be happy about this. Besides, today’s supposed to be his mother’s day off, Danny recalls; she could be home any minute. As for his father, Danny wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t come home at all and went on with his normal day of work after last night’s emergency. “Are my parents home?”

“No, they never came back from the hospital,” Derek answers him, his lips pressed into a thin line, gaze avoiding Danny’s. Danny tries to get a read on Derek’s thought, but finds it hard. He’s never been good at reading people to begin with, and with the ring he’s wearing, he can’t tell what Derek’s feeling at all.

“Okay,” Danny says as Derek scoots up on the bed, half sitting with his back against the headrest. Danny’s cheek slides down to Derek’s belly, his own body still too heavy with sleep to move.

“What are you doing here, Derek?” Danny asks as looks up at the other man, curious to know how they ended up in bed like this, and if anything else happened between them—not that he thinks anything happened, he would’ve remembered if it had. He does remember making out with Derek at one point, but he stopped everything before things could go further. Danny takes a deep breath, taking in Derek’s familiar scent, which makes his body go completely mellow. His fingers curl over Derek’s hip possessively, the gesture mirrored by Derek, and it makes Danny feel at home. They fit well together, Danny admits to himself, biting his bottom lip.

“I…You were having nightmares. You kept screaming my name; I think you were reliving what happened yesterday. I tried to leave once you calmed down, but you started screaming again when I left.”

Danny remains still, soothed by the slow rise and fall of Derek’s abdomen, processing what Derek’s just told him. He remembers the nightmares Derek’s talking about. He remembers them vividly, almost as though they were real, as though he had just been reliving memories. A series of torture scenes, with Derek and Danny always chained far apart and yet close enough to see each other suffering. And of course, they all involved the woman who’d kidnapped them. Speaking of whom, he still doesn’t know who she was, and why she did this to them. He’s been trying hard to push his gnawing curiosity aside, to forget what happened to him and move on, but he can’t. It seems it’s not only harassing him when he’s awake, but also when he’s asleep. He never got a proper explanation after all, from his parents or Derek, and it only adds to his curiosity, his fear of it happening to him again. Danny needs to know more about this werewolf thing too. He needs to know why he was abducted and almost killed in such a brutal manner by this sociopath of a woman. He also needs to know if he’s out of the woods now, if he can stop worrying about other life threats or if he should, on the contrary, start worrying more about it.

Danny also remembers screaming Derek’s name in his dreams, he remembers screaming until his voice gave out; he just didn’t know he’d actually screamed out loud. If he were to get nightmares regularly like he did tonight, it would become problematic. He can’t possibly spend every night with Derek now, can he? His parents aren’t likely to allow it, and it won’t help Danny get the distance he needs from the other man.

Danny just nods in response to Derek’s explanation, and nuzzles further into Derek, his brain starting to work a bit faster as he tries to sort through all the questions he still has to ask Derek. 

“Who was that woman? I don’t understand what exactly happened to us, and most importantly _why_?” Danny asks first, sitting up as well beside Derek so they’re both at eye level. Derek heaves a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he averts his eyes away for a second.

“Her name’s Kate Argent,” Derek starts, a frown marring his face as the name escapes his lips. “She’s a hunter, and so is her entire family. She comes from a long line of hunters, they’ve been hunting supernatural creatures for generations.”

Danny nods as he listens to Derek, not finding it that hard to believe, after everything he’s had to process. It makes sense, after all, that there would be people hunting dangerous monsters, Danny reasons.

“Hold on, you said Argent? As in…”

“Allison Argent, yeah,” Derek finishes for him. “Kate’s her aunt.”

“Wow,” Danny breathes out, not expecting that one. Allison’s involved in all this too? Has everyone from his school been aware of everything all this time?

“Speaking of whom, you should stay away from her, for your own good,” Derek warns him, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. Danny leans into the touch, the concern in Derek’s voice making his heart flutter. He appreciates Derek looking out for him, but Danny doubts Allison’s going to do anything to him.

“I don’t interact that much with her to begin with,” Danny reassures Derek, although he does spend a lot of time with Lydia, who spends a lot of time with Allison. As he stares into Derek’s intense blue eyes, Danny starts to feel the tension in the room rising up, so he decides to move the conversation along. “So…what, they captured us, tortured us to eventually kill us, is that it?”

Derek nods, and proceeds to tell Danny everything about the Argents. About the Hale fire that happened years ago, and Danny’s shocked when he learns the truth behind that incident. It also makes Danny wonder about Derek’s sexuality, what with him having been manipulated by Kate Argent, though the question is a bit inappropriate considering the tragedy Derek’s just told him about. Not to mention Derek’s sister passing away recently, and his psycho uncle being the only family he had now. Danny feels for Derek, and edges closer to him.

“I’m sorry,” Danny whispers, nuzzling into Derek’s neck and wrapping his arms around the latter’s waist. “That’s awful.”

Derek doesn’t say anything, prompting Danny to pull away and look at the other man. Derek’s guilt-ridden eyes shine bright with tears, so Danny stops talking, hugs Derek back instead. He can see how lonely Derek is, he can tell, for he knows—in a sense—how it is. They remain silent for a while, and leisurely slip back into the bed, resuming their initial position; Derek lying on his back, Danny’s head resting on top of Derek’s chest. Danny takes advantage of the situation to weigh the pros and cons of a potential relationship with Derek. Pros: Danny’s at peace when he’s with Derek, of that he’s sure of. For some reason, Danny’s restless whenever Derek’s not around, and he can’t stop thinking about him. It makes him wonder whether that’s how people who are in love feel like about the person they’re in love with. Derek makes him feel safe, ironically, considering Danny’s been in danger because of him. Derek seems to be devoted to him, even if they’ve known each other for three days, and that probably means Derek isn’t likely to cheat on him. Cons: Danny doesn’t know Derek really well. He also almost died twice in the short time he’s known Derek, and it would’ve never happened had Derek not entered his life. And that’s really the only two reasons Danny can think of. One can be fixed, the other can’t be helped. And there are more pros than cons, so at the moment, Danny doesn’t really have any tangible reason not to be with Derek.

 “I’m so happy when I’m with you,” Derek says out of the blue, breaking the soothing silence they were basking in. Danny’s heart skips a beat at that, and he doesn’t know whether he feels joy or sorrow. He adds the fact that Derek’s so open emotionally to the pros list.

“Derek…” Danny trails off, not knowing how to respond, Derek’s last words making him uncomfortable. What Derek said holds so much meaning, and everything seems so serious between them now that Danny can’t help but get antsy.  He’s truly dazed by how calm Derek is about all this, how this all seems so natural to him. Danny has never met a guy that was quite so open with his feelings, so unguarded, so…true. It unsettles him, to say the least; Danny’s learned to play games when it comes to seeing guys, whether he deals with a hookup or a potential boyfriend. But with Derek, everything’s turned upside down; they’re working on a clean slate, with no rules whatsoever. Danny’s not sure whether he likes it, he’s not sure he can be that open, that vulnerable. He’s been burned before, and he already learned to protect himself from being hurt again. Derek’s sincerity makes Danny want to trust him, and there’s something about the way Derek looks at him that makes him think being with Derek is right.

“I just wanted you to know,” is all Derek says, and Danny cranes his neck to look up at the Derek, catching a soft smile from him. He settles his head back on Derek’s chest, his head roaming with thoughts and questions. Right this instant, he wants nothing more than to define this relationship between them once and for all, to make it official. But he did tell Derek he needed time to figure things out, and while that is still true, Danny’s convictions are faltering with Derek being so close to him.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Danny mumbles into Derek’s shirt—well, actually, it’s his shirt, but Derek’s wearing it—and fixates on the ring on his finger, the urge to take it off growing stronger with every minute he spends attached to Derek.

“Do you want me to leave?” Derek asks, and Danny can hear the underlying challenge in Derek’s question, along with a trace of sadness.

“No,” Danny admits, biting his bottom lip down. He could stay here all day, in bed with Derek, in comfortable silence. His parents aren’t likely to come home until late tonight, and Danny still hasn’t decided whether to go to school or not. But he made a decision last night regarding Derek. He can’t just go back on his words, no matter how good it feels to be with the other man.

“Get some more sleep,” Derek whispers, and presses his lips to Danny’s head. Danny decides to let it go, he _is_ still sleepy, the comfortable and warm embrace he’s currently wrapped in making it even harder to fight sleep. He could use a couple more hours of rest, he reasons, and he could still go to his afternoon classes. Danny lets himself drift off to the steady rhythm of Derek’s breathing, cocooned in the latter’s hold.

—————————

Derek watches Danny fall back asleep, and he can’t keep himself from dropping another kiss on top of Danny’s head. Derek just wants a couple more hours of quiet with Danny, a couple more hours of rest before he has to go back to reality and confront the hunters. He thinks about his next course of actions, about the best way to handle the situation. For that, he needs his uncle’s help. The Argents already know about Danny, Kate already tried to use him to get to Derek, and Derek knows she’s bound to try again, especially considering the way they escaped last time. Danny’s mother’s on the hunters’ radar as well now, and from what little Derek can remember, she’s pissed Kate off big time. He’s got to keep watching out for Danny, for his safety. Kate came too close to endangering his life, and Derek won’t let that happen again.

He dares to hope his uncle will help him with this whole mess; he really could use an ally for once, what with Laura gone now. Suppressing a tear at the thought of his sister, Derek draws in a deep breath and lets himself drift back to sleep, lulled by the sound of Danny’s breathing.

——————

“Derek, wake up.”

Derek flutters his eyes open slowly, his uncle’s face coming into view, making him groan slightly. Danny’s still asleep in his arms, and Derek doesn’t want to ever leave this bed. He looks at the clock, and sees he’s managed to get an hour of sleep. Derek tightens his hold around Danny, inhaling the enticing scent he’s come to adore before he opens his eyes again. Peter looks at him with that same serene face and unreadable gaze, and Derek never knows whether he should be worried.

“What are you doing here?” Derek asks his uncle in a whisper, looking back down at Danny. Heaving a sigh, Derek resolves to carefully remove himself from his mate, and gets out of bed, missing the warmth radiating from the latter immediately. He walks out of the room to let Danny rest peacefully; making sure his uncle is following him.

“I came to check on you,” Peter answers as they walk down the stairs. “You’re still hurt.”

“That would be because of Kate Argent,” Derek spits out, turning to look at Peter. “She doesn’t know you’re the alpha. And I almost got killed protecting your identity. Speaking of which, where were you when I needed you?”

“I did look for you, I felt your distress,” Peter replies, pain seeping through his voice, the genuine concern taking Derek aback. It feels like nothing has changed, like he’s back with the loving uncle he’s known while growing up, and not a mindless killer. It makes Derek hopeful, somehow, to know he might get his uncle back. “I was afraid I was too late, but I’m glad to see you safe and sound. Both of you.”

“Right,” Derek mutters as he steps out of the house, breathing in the fresh morning air. He turns around and worries over his lip, reluctant to leave Danny alone, defenseless.

“We don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. We can talk in your car, I saw it not too far from here,” Peter says, having sensed Derek’s reluctance to leave his mate, and Derek’s thankful for that.

“How did you manage to escape them, exactly?” Peter asks as they start walking in the direction of Derek’s car, a light breeze brushing Derek’s skin.

“Danny’s mother, she saved us,” Derek says, unlocking his car when they get to it before stepping in. Once his uncle’s sitting beside him, Derek turns to the latter and speaks up, “We need to talk about our next move.”

“Agreed,” Peter replies, sending him a soft smile. “We need Scott with us, that much is clear. But we could also use the help of two more wolves.”

“You mean Danny and his mother? Because I don’t think they’d be willing to help,” Derek informs him, recalling all too well the disapproval in Danny’s parents’ eyes whenever they’d look at him.

“I can be…persuasive,” Peter says, letting out a little chuckle. “Besides, once you and your mate complete the mating ritual, we’ll be family. And you do for family, right, Derek?”

“Mating ritual?”

“Yes, it’s quite poetic, actually,” Peter answers him. “On the day of a new moon, one shall bite their desired mate to the neck to initiate the ritual. On the night of the following full moon, the other does the biting, and voilà. You get two werewolves mated for life. I thought you and Danny were already mated when I first saw you with him. Only when I saw him up close did I notice the mark on his neck. You’d bitten him not long ago.”

“What? I don’t remember biting him,” Derek says, trying to recall all his interactions with Danny before the whole incident with his uncle kidnapping Danny. That narrows things down to the first time he met Danny, at Stiles’, and the following night when he came to Danny after Peter wounded him. He remembers kissing Danny at Stiles’, and basically dry humping him. Not much happened at Danny’s, he was too weak to do much. He did kiss Danny again in the morning, but that was it. Derek’s eyes widen when he goes through the scene at Stiles’ again, he remembers nibbling Danny’s neck while they were grinding up against each other. He couldn’t have bit Danny accidentally then, could he? He _had_ lost control at that moment, and he doesn’t have a grasp on what happened exactly. Could it have been the influence of the new moon, the mating urges making him mark Danny?

“It doesn’t matter whether you remember, it happened, I saw the mark, which confirmed my suspicions about him being your mate-to-be,” Peter’s voice cuts through his thoughts, looking at him with an amused smile. “Look at your neck in a mirror, you’ll see it too.”

“But what about all the stuff you said about mates being bonded from the moment they are born?”

 “It’s a legend, Derek, I never said it was true, I never said it wasn’t either. It could be. The bond you feel right now is probably the one you made when you bit him. Any werewolf can do it, if two have decided they want to be together. Much like humans marry each other, only more permanent and meaningful.”

“So you don’t believe in soul mates,” Derek remarks, trying to process all these new pieces of information.

 “Not really,” Peter counters. “If you want my honest opinion, I just think it’s love, and pheromones and everything. And being a werewolf, with your enhanced senses and whatnot, it just intensifies everything. But hey, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, right?”

His uncle’s last sentence leaves Derek confused. He’s not an expert with relationships; on the contrary, he’s a cripple when it comes to it. Kate did a number on him, and that’s understandable, considering what she did. He thought it would be easier to let fate decide for him, to trust a higher power, and a part of him still wants to believe Danny’s the one for him.

“So, on the night of the upcoming full moon, Danny has to bite me in his wolf state, and we’ll be mated for life?” Derek asks, his heart beating with excitement just at the thought of going through with this ritual with Danny. Derek’s been restless; the _wolf_ in him has been restless, ever since he met Danny. He has a feeling it will all end once he claims Danny as his for good.

“That’s right, the link will be permanent,” Peter replies. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you through it. You’re in good hands.”

“All right,” Derek says, heaving a sigh. He’s glad to have someone he can fall back on, someone who can mentor him, even if he can’t fully trust Peter yet.

“Just trust me on this, don’t go see him until the night of the full moon. You can keep an eye on him from afar, but don’t talk to him, and don’t approach him, all right?” Peter instructs him, making Derek frown in confusion.

“Why? For how long?” he asks, not understanding what his uncle’s coming at.

“Just do it, at least until the next full moon, which is not that far from now. You think you can keep it in your pants?” Peter lets out the last words with a chuckle.

“Yes,” Derek grits out through his teeth, refraining from rolling his eyes.

“I have to go take care of some things, I’ll see you later,” Peter says, his hand already on the door handle, ready to leave.

“Where are you going?” Derek asks, following his uncle out of the car.

“I’ll tell you later.”

———————

Danny’s woken up by his phone buzzing several times, and this time, he’s alone in bed. It almost makes him wonder if he just dreamt the whole thing up with Derek earlier this morning. Shaking his head, he grabs his phone from his nightstand, seeing a few missed calls and a couple dozens of unread text messages. 10 from Lydia. The rest from Jackson. It’s almost 11 a.m. and Danny plans on taking his time preparing for school. He reads Lydia’s texts first on his way to the bathroom.

_8:07_

_Where are you, Danny? I’m bored._

_8:15  
Mrs. Reynolds just made a mistake in a simple equation, you should’ve seen her face             when I pointed it out. You missed it._

_8:28  
I really hope you’re having fun._

_8:29_

_And by that, I meant with a guy._

_8:29  
A hot guy._

_10:15  
Oh waow, I slept through history, how surprising._

_10:28  
I can’t believe you’re skipping that many classes, Daniel Mahealani._

_10:35  
Did you party that hard last night? Why wasn’t I invited?_

_10:47  
Ugh, I just realized how much school sucks when you’re not around._

_10:51  
Seriously though, are you sick or something? Are you showing up at all today?_

Danny lets out a chuckle and types a quick reply to Lydia, telling her he’ll be back this afternoon. Danny really likes her, and he loves how affectionate she is with him, considering how she can be a total bitch to other people. She’s a lot like Jackson in that respect, and Danny’s glad to be on their good side, it makes him feel somewhat privileged. Lydia and he became friends pretty young, and their friendship formed organically, from the moment they spotted one another as academic rivals, but they put their rivalry aside pretty quickly to enjoy making fun of others instead, no matter how wrong it was, because Lydia made it seem fine. He feels a little bad, thinking about Lydia, considering Jackson dumped her, and most likely because of him. Things are so messy between his best friend and him now, what with Jackson’s declaration of love for him—which is really the last thing he wants to think about—and Derek thrown in the mix. Jackson’s texts are short, and are a combination of _where are you_ and _are you okay_ and _Danny_. He replies briefly, telling Jackson the same thing he did Lydia, before he goes downstairs to grab something to eat and clear his mind. And coffee, Danny needs his coffee.

His espresso is done brewing by the time his mother comes home, exhaustion written all over her face when he sees her come in the kitchen.

“Hey mom,” Danny greets her with a hug, which she half returns, leaning most of her weight on him. He can tell she’s about ready to pass out on him.

“Hey, sweetie, how’re you feeling?” she asks, pulling away to look at him, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek.

“I’m fine, mom, you’re the one who looks—”

“Hold on,” she cuts him off, her brows furrowing as she leans close to him. “What happened? You have his scent all over you, Danny.”

“I…I what?” Danny stutters, grabbing his shirt and smelling it, not finding anything weird about it. “I don’t smell like anything.”

“Derek, you have Derek’s scent on you, I can smell it, Danny,” she explains with an accusing tone, folding her arms over her chest. Right, his mother’s a werewolf, Danny recalls. He’s still weirded out by that fact. “Did he come back last night? What did you do?”

“We didn’t do anything,” Danny replies, feeling uneasy under his mother’s grilling. “I…I was having nightmares, apparently, and he…came to sleep with me, that’s all.”

“Excuse me, he did _what_ now?”

“I mean, literally sleep, we didn’t have sex or anything,” Danny hurries to add, feeling increasingly ill at ease talking about this with his mother.

“After your father and I explicitly forbade him to go anywhere near you,” she raises her tone, making Danny flinch at that. He never likes it when his mother gets mad, no matter how often it’s happened in the past. She scrutinizes him for a second, and grabs his hands, looking down at his fingers. From their point of view, Derek did bring Danny a _lot_ of trouble, so he does understand why they wouldn’t Derek around him, but it still feels like they’re forbidding Danny to see his boyfriend. Which, Derek is not, of course.

“Danny, where’s your ring?” she asks, looking up at him. “I mean, my ring, the one I gave you yesterday, why aren’t you wearing it?”

“I don’t know, I was wearing it when I went to bed last night,” Danny answers her, as surprised as his mother to see it missing from his finger. He distinctly remembers putting it on last night, which even prompted Derek to pay him a visit after that. Now that he’s aware of the ring missing, Danny’s overwhelmed by Derek, unable to ignore the man’s presence. Derek’s not far, and Danny can feel him, aches for him.

“Let me see your neck, I forgot to check it yesterday,” she asks, her hands on Danny’s shoulders, tugging to make him lean down, exposing his neck at her eye level.

“Why?”

She ignores his question, her fingers palpating his skin, and not in the way she usually does when she looks for swollen lymph nodes. He hears her whisper a curse when she’s done, her eyes avoiding his.

“What’s wrong?” Danny asks, trying to coax an answer out of her, and he starts to worry.

“Nothing, let’s go upstairs and look for that ring,” she heaves a sigh, taking a long sip of coffee out of Danny’s mug. She catches him looking and adds, “I need it more than you.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Danny replies, hands in the air, before she drags him upstairs.

They spend a half hour looking for the ring but come up with nothing, and by the time they’re done tidying up Danny’s room, his mother looks ready to kill someone, and Danny’s hands start shaking ever so slightly with want; the need to be with Derek only exacerbated by the latter’s proximity and own longing.

“It’s not here, mom, let’s forget about it, I’m going to be late for my afternoon classes,” Danny throws his hands in the air, exhausted from all the moving around. Not to mention all his senses going out of control; his eyesight going from blurry to really precise in a second, his sense of smell picking up on stuff he should’ve never been able to pick up on, his ears assailed by random noises from outside.

“How could you have lost it? I mean, how is it possible, you lost _both_ rings in under 24 hours,” she says, pushing her hair out of her face. Danny feels like a child being scolded again, and he doesn’t like it when his mother uses that reprimanding tone with him. He’s not a kid anymore, and he hasn’t been scolded like this for a few years now.

“I don’t know, I was wearing them, I don’t remember taking them off,” Danny replies, at a loss for a good answer, as he rubs his temples, a headache sneaking up on him.

“It must’ve been Derek,” she mutters, glancing at him. “It’s him. He took off your ring when you were asleep.”

“Why would he do that?” Danny asks, figuring out the answer to his own question as soon as he voices it out loud. He remembers wearing the ring when he woke up this morning, he still had it when he went back to sleep after his little talk with Derek. It fits, Danny admits, Derek was the only one there, and he didn’t seem too fond of that ring. Things are still unclear as to what’s between him and Derek, this link that the ring diminishes, but Danny’s mother seems to know more than Danny does. If he plays the ignorance card, he might get some answers out of her. He waits for his mother to provide him with an answer, watches her bite her bottom lip, seeing the internal conflict she struggles with.

“Because,” she starts saying. “I don’t know—”

“Mom,” Danny grabs her arm, looking her straight in the eye, knowing fully well she’s hiding something from him. “What aren’t you telling me? This directly concerns me; don’t I deserve to know the truth? Haven’t you lied to me enough?”

“I’m not even sure,” she begins, running her hand through her hair before glancing back at him. “And it’s complicated, honey, you don’t need this in your life right now.”

“But it _is_ in my life now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going away any time soon, so I might as well know what it is,” Danny retorts, getting impatient of his mother’s stalling. He starts pacing, feeling a bit hot and restless. He’s finding it harder and harder to focus, his need to see Derek becoming pathologically concerning.

“I think you and Derek are mates,” she says finally, and Danny doesn’t quite compute what she just said at first, the words falling down on him like a pile of bricks.

“Mates? What does that mean?” he asks, now definitely curious to know more. His heart picks up a pace as he anticipates the answer to his question, what it would mean to his relationship with Derek. What it would do to Danny’s life. Are they soul mates? Is that what his mother meant? Danny’s never believed in fate, he’s never bought into the whole soul mate thing. His past relationships have only comforted him in his convictions. But he has to admit that, as puzzling as it sounds, Derek being his mate would explain a lot of things, and it worries him even more. He already feels like an addict going through withdrawal at the moment—not that he knows what it’s like, but he imagines it’s what they go through—how worse could it get? What if he never sees Derek again? Is he going to die from it? The idea just repulses him, making him shudder with dread. He doesn’t want to be that dependent, he doesn’t want his life to revolve entirely around one person, no matter how important they are to him.

“I’m really not an expert on the subject,” his mother’s stalling again, and her persistence to avoid the subject is starting to make Danny go out of his mind. He feels a bit hot, and breathing is becoming a difficult task. Not to mention how horny he is right now; making him feel all in all, uncomfortable in his own skin.

“What. Does that. Mean?” He repeats, stressing every word, both of his hands holding his mother’s shoulders now, itching to shake her. He’s on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

“Look,” she grabs his neck again, and then gets her phone out of her pocket to take a picture before she shows it to him. Danny frowns at the screen, his hand instinctively reaching for his neck, his fingers trying to feel the tattoo his mother’s showing him. It’s two half circles that are sort of embedded in one another, forming an S. It’s never been there before, and he has no recollection of going to a tattoo parlor—or getting drunk enough for that to happen without him remembering. “This mark means you’re mated, or that you are about to be, I’m not really sure so chances are things might not be set in stone yet. If you listen to me, hopefully it’ll be gone after the next full moon, and everything will go back to normal, all right? No more werewolves stuff, no more Derek, no more hunters. There’s no point in telling you more than that. You wouldn’t want to hear the rest anyway, especially since what I could tell you would probably be not true.”

“Mom, I just learned yesterday that I was an honest to God _werewolf_ or hybrid or whatever—which, you and Dad did a hell of a good job hiding it from me, and now you’re telling me I might be Derek’s mate and won’t tell me more about what it means? How am I supposed to just ignore that?” Danny refrains from hissing at his mother. He keeps rubbing his neck, right where the mark is, wondering how it got there, what it entails. Does Derek have one too? Questions keep piling up in his head, adding to the headache and general unease he’s experiencing at the moment.

“Look, this isn’t our priority right now, the full moon’s coming up soon, and I don’t have any other ring for you,” she says, sounding tired, her hands rubbing her forehead.

“What’s going to happen? Is one half of my body going to turn into a wolf or something?” Danny inquires, barely hiding the sarcasm from his tone. “Also, since you haven’t told me anything yet, I assume you’re the one who gave me the werewolf…gene, or whatever? Does dad even know?”

“Yes, your father knows. Of course he knows,” she replies, combing her hair back  behind he ears before drawing in a breath.

“You’re going to turn into a full on wolf, Danny,” his mother says in a serious tone, her face devoid of any trace of joking. She’s using her doctor voice, the one that leaves no place for discussion, and so Danny listens carefully. “Every family’s different, some keep their human body and go through very little organ changes, and ours has the singularity of turning completely into actual wolves. So far, we’ve been able to avoid that turn with you and your sister. As the full moon draws on, you will have your senses and physical abilities heightened, your killing urges—and yes, you will have them—will grow stronger. It’ll be harder for you to deal with them since it’ll be new; you’ve never had to learn how to control any of these components that come with being a werewolf. Had you been a full-blooded werewolf, you would have to deal with those urges on a daily basis. So if we don’t find either ring back, we will have to get another one, or find a way to restrain you so that you don’t hurt anybody or yourself. There are hunters in town, I think you know that better than anyone.”

“The Argents,” Danny mumbles, remembering the painful encounter he’s had with them as he processes everything his mother told him. She’s right. He never had to deal with this, never even thought it was possible, he can’t nor does he want to. None of what his mother described to him is appealing to Danny, and it makes him freak out that much more about his current situation. He curses himself for having lost those rings, wondering whether he is really at fault here, or if, as his mother’s suggesting, Derek’s the culprit. But then a thought occurs to him.

“Derek said he didn’t know about the ring,” he starts saying, recalling the conversation he’d listened in yesterday in Derek’s car. “He couldn’t have taken the first one.”

“But he could’ve taken the one I gave you yesterday, especially since he knew then what it’s for,” she counters. “Speaking of Derek, I want you to stay away from him, will you? You will only get caught up in between his battle with the Argents, and that’s the last thing you want.”

“Isn’t it too late for that? Kate Argent knows who I am now, and I know Allison, it won’t be hard for her to find me.”

“They won’t try anything on you at school, in broad daylight,” his mother replies, looking out the window, arms folded over her chest, before she glances back at him. “Come straight home after practice, all right? Surround yourself with friends. And avoid Derek.”

“I…”

“You _have_ tostay away from him, no matter how hard it is, you have to fight the urge to be with him,” she insists, her eyes boring into his.

“All right, fine,” Danny concedes, even though avoiding Derek is the last thing he wants to do right now. Quite the opposite, actually. He wanted some time away from the guy, but now his body is itching to be around him, it doesn’t make one iota of sense. He’s worse than a pregnant woman, what with his mood swings. His mother seems pretty adamant about it, and although Danny hates being kept in the dark as to why, he decides to listen to her. If there’s the slightest chance this weird connection between him and Derek might go away, that Danny’s life can go back to the way it was, he’s willing to listen to her and avoid Derek.

“This is for your own good,” she adds.

“And you won’t even tell me why,” Danny mutters, deciding he’s not really mad at her. He just hates not knowing everything there is to know about something, he usually tries to get to the bottom of things. “You know I can feel there’s something between Derek and I, don’t you? I don’t understand why you won’t explain to me what this mate thing is exactly. I can take it, mom.”

“I trust you, but I also think it would be best if you don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you to trust me on this,” she pleads, taking both his hands in hers. “Please.”

“Fine, but what about you? You’re going to be home alone when I’m off to school,” Danny says, getting progressively more worried about his mother’s safety now. He hadn’t thought about it, that his mother’s also a target now.

“They don’t know who I am,” she replies, shaking her head.

“Yet,” Danny interjects. “You showed your face to them yesterday when you came to save us, didn’t you?”

“I can defend myself,” she says, and though Danny believes her, he can’t help but worry anyway. The Argents seem resourceful, and would outnumber them easily, he frets.

“Your father will come home during the day to set up some protection around the house,” she adds.

“How? How’s he going to protect the house from gunfire? We already have a security system against breaking and entering, what more could he do about that, stand guard?” Danny frowns, looking at his mother expectantly.

“Don’t you worry about that,” she waves his questions off, a clear indication she wants to end the conversation. She cups his face in her hands, inspecting him. “Are you all right, though? You don’t look so good, maybe you shouldn’t go to school today.”

“I’ll be fine, I just need to take a shower,” Danny lies, the heat starting to get to him, his head throbbing and his entire body tiring.

“Are you sure?” I’m going to take a shower as well, I’ll come back to check on you, I’ll drive you to school then if you’re all right,” she says.

“All right. You still have a lot to tell me,” Danny reminds her as he leads her out of his room, glancing at his clock to make sure he still has time to get ready.

She leaves his room after that, and Danny proceeds to change out of his clothes. He’s left with a lot more of information to process, an afternoon of classes he has not interest in attending at all, and more importantly, that perpetual and relentless desire to be with Derek. Things are not going as planned, and it’s not good.

“Hey,” the voice startles him just as he’s about to pull a shirt over his head, turning to see Derek standing by the window, leering at him. Think of the devil, and he shall appear on your doorstep—or by your window frame, in this case, Danny scoffs inwardly. All of a sudden, Danny’s heart racing, his nostrils are invaded with Derek’s scent, his eyes are fixated on Derek’s face, and all he can hear is Derek’s fast but steady heartbeat. This is not good. He pulls on the shirt, self conscious of Derek devouring him with his eyes, and takes a step back from the latter, until his legs hit his bed, making him fall back on it.

“No, Derek, you can’t be here,” Danny breathes out, panic taking over him as he feels himself losing the last bits of control he has left over his urge to jump Derek’s bones.

“It’s okay,” Derek murmurs, and in a second he’s right up in Danny’s space, straddling him on the bed, hands cupping his cheeks, leaning down closer and closer to him. Derek’s smiling at Danny; not grinning, not smirking. Smiling. Just a wholehearted and genuine smile that makes Danny’s heart melt. “I know you want me.”

“Why is this happening to me?” Danny mumbles as his arms wrap around Derek on their own, his hands seeking out Derek’s smooth skin underneath the latter’s shirt, the contact sending shrills of electricity from Danny’s fingertips through his entire body. Derek ignores Danny’s question and silences him with a kiss, slow and languorous, their bodies fitting into each other completely.

“What are you doing here?” Danny breathes out when their lips part for a moment, before Derek claims them again, effectively silencing him. They pull away seconds later for lack of air, leaving Danny panting heavily, staring up at light blue eyes and an elated smile. They stare at each other like this for what feels like an eternity, and Danny still waits for an answer, but Derek won’t speak, and he won’t budge either; they just remain still like this, with Derek’s body lying on top of Danny’s, their limbs attached to the other. Eventually, Derek’s lips move, laughter in his eyes, but Danny can’t hear anything, everything’s drowned out.

“Danny! Danny!” his mother’s voice comes through, and in the blink of an eye, Derek’s gone from his sight, his mother’s face replacing Derek’s. He blinks several times again, rubbing his eyes until he comes out of this haze.

“What happened? Where’s Derek?” Danny asks, confused, his heart still pounding loud in his ears. Was he hallucinating?

“Oh my God,” Danny’s mother says, her hands framing Danny’s face in the same manner Derek’s were just a few seconds ago. “Sweetie, you had an absence, you just…blacked out for a couple minutes, your gaze was empty and you weren’t responding at all. I was starting to think were having your first seizure. But I guess I know now what that was all about.”

“I…It wasn’t real?” Danny wonders out loud, the feel of Derek’s lips against his lingering. His body is on fire, and Danny can hardly breathe, drops of sweat streaming down his face.

“No,” his mother says in a soothing tone, her thumb still stroking his cheek as her other hand lowers down to his neck.

She touches his forehead with the back of her hand, using the other on his neck to take his pulse. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to school at all today, I think it’s best for you. Go back to bed, Danny, you’re burning and your heartbeat’s going through the roof. I’d rather not prescribe you beta blockers at your age, so you go and get some rest, I’ll bring you some aspirin.”

“Okay,” Danny breathes out, wiping some sweat off his face as he makes his way to the bathroom. He splashes his face with ice-cold water in an attempt to wake up from this nightmare, and to cool down his burning body. This sudden heat wave is a real shock, and he wouldn’t be surprised if he had a 104° fever. Danny takes off his sweat-drenched shirt, breathing slow and deep to calm his heart down, fingers on his neck to assess his pulse rate. He takes a good look at himself in the mirror, leaning on the sink and panting heavily.

His mother’s back a couple minutes later, handing him a glass and a couple of pills, which he swallows mechanically. “Thanks,” he mutters, splashing some more water on his face. He takes some time to compose himself, his ragged breathing making it hard for him to speak. “What’s happening to me?”

 “You’re going through your first heat,” she replies, a note of sympathy in her voice, and the words hit Danny hard.

“What?” Danny deadpans, unable to believe what his mother just told him. “Are you actually saying that I’m…that I’m in _heat_?”

“Oh God,” his mother croaks, her eyes fidgeting until they settle back on him. She grabs another towel and helps wipe sweat off of her son.  “I’m afraid so, sweetie, I never thought it would happen.”

This can’t be happening to him, he tells himself, scrubbing his face with a towel. He’s going through his first heat? Like an animal? Humans don’t go through heats; humans are more evolved than that. Humans are one of the rare species who have sex for purposes other than reproduction. But then Danny’s reminded he’s not entirely human, and in the end, that’s the hardest truth to swallow. He still hasn’t gotten around to accept that about him, and he’s most likely not going to any time soon.

“How long is it going to last?” Danny worries, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

“I don’t know, it usually lasts twenty four hours, but with you, it’s different—”

“Different how?” Danny cuts her off, leaning back against the counter behind him. He watches his mother biting her nails, worry sketching her features, before she finally heaves a heavy sigh and looks back at him.

“You’re a hybrid, Danny, not a full-blooded werewolf, you shouldn’t be going through this heat to begin with,” she starts explaining. “But…you’re in the middle of a mating process, and you’ve been exposed to Derek for quite some time without actually… _mating_ , and it’s triggered it, I suppose. Especially since you’re not wearing your ring anymore.”

“How do I stop it?”

“I don’t know,” she replies, throwing her hands in the air. “I’ve never dealt with this sort of thing before, I cut myself from the supernatural a long time ago. I don’t know what to do but wait this out.”

“Awesome,” Danny mutters, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He’s never felt this horny in his life, his skin feels too tight, and it makes him want to scrape it off. He really wishes Derek were here right now, he’s almost desperate for the other man’s touch.

“Look, we’ll go to my bathroom, and you’ll take a nice cold bath to cool down, all right? Hopefully it’ll get better soon,” she suggests, taking his hand in hers and dragging him out of his own bathroom where there’s no bathtub. Danny complies, not knowing what else to do anyway, grateful that his mother was around when this happened to him.

The cold water helps a little, along with the aspirin he took earlier, and after a few minutes, Danny can already feel his body temperature decreasing. Nevertheless, he’s still hot, and the water’s warming up too fast to his liking, forcing him to change it. Derek’s getting close, he can sense it, and his heart beats so fast with excitement it feels like it’s going to give out any second. Eventually, the heat gets to Danny, who’s already exhausted and dizzy, and he passes out in the bathtub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took the longest time, and I've been working myself crazy over it, over the mating thing. Let me know what you think!


End file.
